On the road again....

Finally starting to feel human again after the marathon, "getting my legs back", so to speak....my runs are still felling challenging, but I am slowly becoming able to run for longer lengths of time...Last week at the WCR Clinic was a pretty good week. Monday was a combo of hill repeats and speed work and it was tough, but it felt like a good workout and, most importantly, I didn't injure myself! Thursday was a little more tough, a 4.5 mile "social" run...my hips and IT Band were acting up pretty bad and it was a slow day....I guess you have both!

This past Saturday we did the LRM group run in Maumelle and it felt good to be called a "crackhead" again....:) It was an out-and-back, which I typically hate, but I was able to do 7 miles and was proud of that considering my latest struggles with increasing my mileage. My hips were a bit tight and I attribute that to my extra 20 minutes of sleep, instead of warming up on my spin bike like I usually do...oh well....Of course, I'm not super speedy yet, but I am hoping that will come with time. This next month is going to be an intermediate time of trying to work up my endurance level during the week, and hopefully making a habit of running 5 days a week. Me, Cheryl and Kim have talked about doing the Bass Pro Shops Marathon on November 1st and that should give me a little "cushion" as I get ready to start training again. I have been looking at training schedules and want to give the Galloway method a spin at some point. Mostly, I am concentrating on running for longer periods of time and less on how far I run. Somehow that little shift of focus actually seems to help me, and I'm not so obsessed with pace!

I'm planning on doing the Catholic High Rocket 5k on April 25th. This next weekend is the route on Rhaling Rd. with the LRM group, and I NEED those hills. I've heard the 5k route is all hills! Cheryl will be out of town that weekend for the American Odyssey Relay and Kim will be doing the marathon in Nashville. May is fraught with several 5k's as well, although, I regret not being able to do the Dino Dash on the 30th. I will be camping at the Buffalo that weekend...somehow I will find a way to cope...hehe...

Any advice regarding marathon training schedules or experience with the Galloway Method is welcome!

Whine..complain....etc...etc...etc...

Ok...so mostly this blog is to vent...whine..bitch..moan and complain....5 things I do exceptionally well...Mostly, I'm just feeling frustrated in general about how slowly my body is letting me recover from the marathon. The 5k last weekend was a treat, in that it was fun, and I beat my goal time. But it bothers me that, more often than not, those 2 things are directly linked and almost totally dependant upon each other...I want to train for another marathon...but I'm not sure when...and I don't want to sign up "just because" and not be ready...And, anyhoo, I have been signing up for some 5k's and a 10k to get used to running again and try something different for a while and I still seem to have this pressure following me around...kind of like competition...I've always been focused on trying to beat myself, meet my own goals...but now, I feel like if I'm not a part of someone else's, I 'll always get left behind...My friends have done plenty of run days, running slower than I know they can or want to, to stay with me..and now, not getting any faster, I need to let them go and do better for themselves. This makes me feel sad...sad that I'm not doing better....sad that I will be alone...sad that I once enjoyed running alone and now it kind of hurts...sad that the love of running seems to be overshadowed by expectations (mine and others)....

So, it is with a heavy heart and ipod in hand, that I let go...I will sign up for a marathon WHEN I'm ready...I will run at MY OWN pace and let others leave me if they need to....and this WILL NOT mean that I'm not bad or inadequate or a sucky runner...it just means that I AM WHERE I AM...and hopefully other people will accept that....hopefully I will accept that. That's all I can do.