"We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy
it and cannot help ourselves...The more restricted our society and work
become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this
craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this,
or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable."
~ Sir Roger Bannister ~
If you're like me, you sometimes jump into situations without fully thinking and planning them out.
Like my running for instance . . . when I happened to glance at a flyer in the library for a local 5k several years ago. I thought, "SURE! I can do that! I've been doing yoga and pilates for months and I'm in pretty decent shape." So I signed my six year old daughter and myself up for the full 3.1 miles.
Holy mother of hills! I thought I was going to DIE. But we both made it across the finish line in under an hour . . . with a passel of little kids beating the pants off of us.
Of course, I knew I couldn't let THAT happen again. (How embarrassing!) So I started actually running. On a regular basis. And adding mile after mile after mile. Pushing myself to be faster and faster, so I could at least come in ahead of the pre-school/kindergarten pack the following year.
And I fell in love with the sport. The peace and contentment. The feeling it gave my muscles, my heart and my lungs. It challenged me and calmed me.
So I completely quit doing my yoga and pilates and focused fully on my running. Which wasn't a very smart thing for me to do. I pulled muscles and suffered from all kinds of aches and pains, but none of them were painful enough to keep me from heading out the door for a run, until the summer of 2013.
The past year and a half has been pretty frustrating for me. You see . . . I don't like lifting weights. Or resistance band training. Or Jillian Michaels. Or cross training. I just want to run.
Unfortunately, it seems that there are usually two sides to everything. (The good and the bad.) And with my particular situation, in order to run the way I like to run . . . I must build the muscles of my right leg back up, and do some pretty unpleasant exercises, so I can get back to running pain free again. I have to lift weights and do resistance band training. I have to cross train and break up things with a Jillian Michael's workout now and then. And I just have to suck it up and like it.
This whole process of building up and tearing down, seems to be a cycle with me. One that I would like to put a halt to this year. But the good thing about cycles . . . they always come back around again.
I highly encourage you, if you are just starting out, to find a beginner's program. And build up your base BEFORE you start tearing up the pavement. Go to a running clinic. Take a class. Ask questions. Research.
I've been running for five years now . . . and I wish I knew then, what I know now. I'm continually learning as I stumble and stagger my way through. It's all part of the process, and you have to be kind to yourself along the way.
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Fish and Cameron . . . I logged a mile for you this afternoon! After two hours of stacking brush and loading 70+ pound logs into the back of the truck . . . I was pretty tired. But I counted it as my leg workout today. When we got home from hauling wood, I put my workout clothes on, did a 10 minute pilates warm up, lifted some weights and got that mile in before I had to fix dinner. Thanks for being my running buddies! Love you both!
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