Not-So-Pretty Thoughts

This post will be a little off-the-cuff, so I apologize in advance if you stumbled over here looking for something light and cheery with a neat and tidy wrapping.

I'm feeling far from that today.

This morning I woke up and realized two things:

 #1 My foot hurt too much to apply pressure to walk normally. 

This was not the case yesterday. 

I kind of thought that I had brilliantly overcame another obstacle-- That I had babied my L foot enough to get over whatever happened to it last weekend ( which didn't start hurting until later in the day, several hours after running 17 miles and working at a race).

 #2 The 4th of July is FRIDAY and not Saturday. Don't ask me how I had the day of the week wrong, but I did. And, the combination of #1 and #2 means that I would need to register tomorrow to race on the 4th, but that does not seem prudent. :(

Here I am again.

Wondering how I am such a train wreck as a runner.

Re-Thinking Running, Gratitude and 2 Winners :)

It's such a blessing to be running right now!

In March of last year, I was thumping  myself on the head and wondering when I might be able to run again. I had signed up for a relay (I am signed up for the same one this year!), but was unable to run due to domino injuries in my left leg.  Little did I know it would be months before I would be running "right".

This spring, it feels like I have peeled a layer off. Another version of my running journey revealed.

The biggest joys are little things....

Measurable Improvement

I've been trying to pay attention to the little signals that come with running.  

(When you are fresh off the injury bench, the last thing you want to do is go back to it right away.)

There have been some small things here and there-- some minor little 'niggles' that remind me that I had plantar fasciitis. I call them 'deja-vu', but that might not be the most appropriate name for them.

More than likely, my left foot is still healing from PF, and the accessory muscles, tendons, and ligaments are responding to an increased work load with a little bit of grumbling..

(Ridgeline Trail)

All in all, I have little to complain about.  I am VERY HAPPY with running right now.

***

I took a restful week last week, and came into the weekend strong and ready to run. We happened to be in Eugene, so I was able to hit trails there both Friday and Saturday.. 

I selected Pre's trail for my Friday run, so I could have a nice, easy, flat bark path run the day before my scheduled "long run". 

Pre's trail is good that way, and I never know who I might run into there. 

This time it was the U of O men's Cross Country team. :) Decked in Oregon garb, they traveled the path in a pack clearly doing some sort of tempo run. At least I hope it was a tempo run. They lapped me twice! O_o

In my defense, I was stopped to stretch for a few minutes. 

Conveniently, I left my Garmin at home, so I had to run by feel (and wrist watch). I am rusty with my running math, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Without my heart rate monitor as a leash, I finished the easy bark run at about 8:25 pace (going off the runningahead.com map tool) - not far off of my pre-injury easy pace. 

Now I wish I had the monitor on, so I could know if I was in the right zone or running "hot"!

Clearly I am still an obsessed runner.. Just not an obsessed runner who is organized enough to pack her GPS/heart rate monitor.

***

My second run surprised me as well. I headed to Ridgeline trail and started at a section that was new to me. I was aiming for about 8-10 miles total, again, without GPS.

(Ridgeline Trail)

It was raining, but lovely.

I made it from one end to the other, stopping a few times to snap pictures or stretch. There was a family hiking, and I think I motivated the kids to run, because when I stopped to stretch the little girl almost caught up with me. :)  

I finished the 9.6 miles in 96 minutes.. which is a good pace for me on this trail, and about 30 secs/mile faster than I ran some of the same sections a month ago. 

What I am short on is endurance..... and speed. 

Shoot. I pretty much have no other gears than "get down the road" right now. That's O.K. because I love running. I am blessed to be in this body. 

***

One of the questions I have wrestled with this year has been, "Could you be content with all of your PRs as they are, never to do speed work again-- if it meant you could run injury free for the rest of your life?"

But, in truthfulness, being content as a runner can't be hinged on PRs, and no one can promise injury-free running- (even Jeff Galloway, who I greatly admire as a runner, coach and person.).

I'm just going to appreciate the gift God has given me as long as I have it, hold on for the ride, and do crazy things from time to time. 

That's really the only way I know how to live life.

Don't take yourself too seriously

§  I stopped at mile 6 on my Sunday long run to take care of a little "business", when I discovered that my shorts were on inside-out: black shorts with white crotch liner.

It reminded me of several similar incidents: the time I wore my skirt backwards, the time I wore two different brands of shoes (and two different colors) at the same time. It made me think of a friend who likes to wear her Zensah tights backwards. Often I am too serious. Things like this are good for me; I need a little reminder now and then to "lighten up" and enjoy life!

§         Friday night (last weekend) I ran my first trail race. Ever. 

It helped me to go into it with the mantra: It's a trail race; pace is unimportant. 

The mantra was even more helpful after the race. Again…this was the perfect chance to NOT take myself too seriously. And I might have overrun the course. Just a little bit. But it felt good to have bark dust flying in my face for a while and act like someone who really knows how to race on trails.

§         After the race my dad took us out to dinner. His restaurant choice? Sushi Island, a restaurant with a moving belt of sushi.

Now I LOVE sushi and could easily eat my own weight in rice, raw fish and seaweed, but I had not figured that my kids would do the same. To add to the fun, it became a game of pulling my three year old off the conveyor belt as he tried to snag every interesting new plate that whirred by. I got extra portions when he managed to snag a few plates, took one bite off each, and decided he would rather have edamame.

Busted: Sushi Snatcher

§         Shortly after eating 17 plates, my seven year old announced, “They are MEXICANS, Matthew!!!” when a nice couple walked in. (late edit: I need to express that we are in no way racist in our home. I don't judge others by their ethnicity, skin, religious beliefs, income. I am raising my children the same way, but since they hardly ever leave the home- anything different is something worth shouting about. I didn't make a bid deal about this situation, but I did tell my son that you can't shout things like that because unless you ask, you can't be certain of someone's heritage.)

He is completely intrigued with other cultures and also used his opportunity to practice his “Chinese” in the Japanese restaurant. We don’t get out to restaurants very often. It was a nice treat and another great opportunity not to take life too seriously.

Thanks for dinner, Dad. J

Some gratitude

My five year old. Middle son. Lives in an imaginary world and  I love him to pieces!

• I have an 8 gallon crock, and a 3 gallon stainless steel pot filled with vegetables that will soon be pickles. I love salt. Some of these might eventually make it into jars.
• Really REALLY blessed to have moved within about 75 yards of my in laws and my sister in law and her kids. I wasn't sure how this was going to work out, and at times I have to hang a SLEEPING..DO NOT DISTURB sign on my front door, but most of the time I am just DARN glad to have some adult company and SIL pushes me to do strange things, like can apple pie filling (also known as heroine, or crack-in-a-jar).
• My oldest will be performing in a local history play this weekend. He is cast as "Beaver 2".J  Not his first choice, but he has his lines memorized and we will all enjoy two nights of his dramatic flair.
• We haven't been to church in over a month :( , but got to celebrate my son's baptism anniversary with the pastor who baptized him last August. I need to commit to helping him grow more spiritually this year. 
• Lately I have been drawn to appreciate my kids a lot more. Often I am so task-oriented I see them as obstacles to what I need to get done, when in reality they are MOST important and should be at the top of my list. My husband is good at reminding me of this. I am grateful to have his balance in my life.
• Related to the last one: I am trying to love more...enjoy the moments..not rush off to the dishes and dinner, or whatever else is waiting. I really enjoyed a good snuggle with my littlest this week when he decided to be my "foot warmer" and crawled down in the covers to wrap around my feet. It hits like a ton of bricks sometimes. What am I trying to rush away from?

^{Romans 15:4} 

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.