Tomorrow, I leave for my race weekend. I think it’s fair to say that I’m nervous, especially as I’ve started having nightmares about it. The most entertaining of which being that I had to complete the race in a skull boat with a crew of six…and the whole course was staged in water. You had to race other boats in between obstacles, get out of the boat to complete the obstacle, then go swim your boat down (which drifted due to waves/tides) before heading to the next challenge. It was a wild, exhausting dream. I don’t even know if my crew completed our mission!
Anyway, aside from the crazy dreams, I’m finally coming down to the wire. It’s been over two months of training, and I think that merits some reflection about where I was at pre-training, and where I am now.
Two months ago:
· Just starting my running card. Running two minutes on, walking two minutes off for a total of 30 minutes and just around 1.5 miles.
· Runner’s knee up the wazoo!!!
· Running on treadmill only
· Could feel my body weight with every stride. Things were bouncing and jiggling and rubbing…I like to call these reverberations my running "aftershock." Like what happens after an earthquake. Fitting, no?
· Overall negative relationship with running. Why run if you're not being chased/chasing something?
Now:
· I’m able to run a consecutive mile, in no longer than 11 minutes. Fastest mile has been 9.38
· If I push hard, can run/walk a 5k in under 34.30
· Fully functioning knees while running. Praise the high heavens, I'm not arthritic afterall!
· Have been fitted for running shoes. And they are totally fly. Absolutely worthwhile luxury.
· Running only outdoors for the past few weeks. Man, what a difference. I barely sweat anymore, thanks to this Fall weather. And I get to scope real estate in my neighborhood!
· My ownership of spandex pants has grown by 400%. Seriously. So has my collection of high-impact sports bras.
· My body has gotten “tighter” and aftershocks are less (read: not as jiggly/bouncy/rubby) over the past few months—particularly in my abdominal areas. I’m liking the reduced reverberation, and I feel much more in sync out on the road.
· More positive relationship with my running self. If running had a survey, I’d give it 4.5 stars in terms of how I feel when doing it/overall satisfaction with it as a workout. See, if I can manage to do THIS, we can have world peace, people!
Growth Areas
· I’m struggling to push my distance past 1 mile without needing a quick break. I hope that in a few months’ time, I’ll be able to run an entire 5k without stopping.
· Side stitches. Got some good tips from friends about how to ward these off, and am practicing them on every run. Side stitches really slow down my ability to run longer distances, because they are pretty much paralyzing when they happen. It’s hard to run when you feel like a gremlin is exploding from your belly.
So, not bad for a few months of work. It’s been easy to lose sight of my progress while being in the daily grind of working out. But when I take the opportunity to pause and look back at how far I’ve come, I have to say that it’s nice to enjoy the view from here and also to respect my journey. That being said, I’ll always have room for growth and new horizons for which to aim. And you know I’m going to shoot for that—this type A+ explorer is always hungry for new frontiers!
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