A Break in the Storm

Today marked the end of a stretch of crappy runs and crappy events.

In the past two weeks, my mom had surgery (and had post-op complications), Hurricane Sandy hit (and I watched it destroy a place that's very meaningful to me), I was rejected from yet another bunch of jobs, and I realized a way to get a second chance at shaping my education and career path--only to learn it's financially impossible for me.

My runs have been fewer in frequency, and generally just haven't been good. I have two cracked bones in my foot ("cracked, like a brick!," is how the podiatrist described it), and I've been having trouble with nausea and neck pain during my runs. I've cut some runs short, and I've just completely failed to attempt others.

Today, a Nor'easter is setting in and there's a nasty mix of snow, wind, and rain outside. I'm a baby when it comes to the cold and I'm not the biggest fan of snow, so I was really dreading today's run.  

But, I did it.

Not only did I do it, I ran farther and more comfortably than I've ever run before.

Every time the MapMyRun narrator announced that I'd completed another half mile, I felt like I'd accomplished something, and I pushed myself to accomplish more.

For once, I wasn't thinking about ending the run the whole time I was out--I was enjoying the run and the moment itself.

Granted, there were snags. I stepped in a puddle and had to run with cold, soaked feet. The Learn Spanish podcast I was listening to skipped from Lesson 3 to Lesson 33, which was jarring to say the least.

Still, I'm proud of what I accomplished today. I haven't been feeling very good about myself lately, but at least I have this. At least I have a good run in the books. At least I have confidence that I can run again, and I can keep running farther, and I can keep running better. 

Miles run today: 5.5

Miles run since the start of training: 33.2

Days until the race: 184

Early Observations

We officially registered this blog a week ago, so I’m going to refer to that as the official “start” of my training, even though I’ve been flirting with the idea of regular running for a while now.

So far, I’m not too talented at the running thing. My biggest challenge? I get bored. I’ll be running, my body will feel fine, I won’t be too winded or too tired, but I’ll be bored. I can get my body to work, but my brain is another story.

Here are some early successes from Week 1 of training:

• I completed a 6 mile session (and only thought about giving up 300 times during the run).
• I can run 4 consecutive miles at a 10-minute-mile pace! (Too bad elite runners can do 26 consecutive miles at much faster pace...)
• I did a silent run (one with no music or podcasts) and realized my brain isn’t too scary of a place to be.

But, there are failures for every success. Most notably:

• I ruined my running shoes because I went out in the rain.
• I ruined my foot because I started running in non-supportive, hand-me-down Coach sneakers instead.
• I already have a black toenail. One week of training, and I already have a black toenail! I didn’t expect that to happen so soon. If my nipples start bleeding next week, you might have to count me out of this whole running thing.

Miles run today: 0 (let’s hope this rest day makes my injury go away!)
Miles run since the start of training: 16.12
Days until the race: 194