Always Learning!

Life just flies by!! Again here I sit 6 weeks away from my 15K, 8 weeks from Ragnar So Cal, and 13 weeks from 1/2 Marathon #5.  And yet I am for once really feeling like my training is on track. Life is flying at me. Work is crazy, home life is crazy, yet I am getting my training runs in and I am focused when I do them. I am taking a moment now to focus on the things I am learning.

1. I finally have a friend to do the long runs with. She is my pace and I actually understand the meaning of talking while running on the long runs. Because of that I am able to run much longer. When you have someone to talk to it makes the miles go by so much faster. I enjoy my solo runs, but sometimes even with some great tunes I find myself really looking at that Garmin to see how far I have gone and how long I have been running for. When you have someone to talk to my pace may be slower, but that is okay when I am running 6 miles and longer on a beautiful Saturday morning.

2. Along with understanding what it means to work out in Zone 1-2 and carry a conversation  I am learning that working out in Zone 3-4 is just as fun in shorter bursts. I LOVE interval training and Tempo runs now because I know they mean I am working on getting faster. By doing the speed training I am making my Zone 1-2 a faster speed as well. It is a real learning experience.

3.  I am learning that I WANT to fuel my body with healthier options. I allow myself 1 day to not care as much about what I am eating. However, the rest of the week, if I am running I want to make sure that I am eating properly so that I can run properly. I am starting to feel like my body is morphing into a runners body, and I want to keep it that way! Runners come in all shapes and sizes, but it does seem easier when that size is closer to a healthy size. I actually crave salads now almost as much as I crave the sweets. Now, when I think of sweets, I think of a protein bar or the Greek Yogurt dessert flavors. Key Lime Greek Yogurt, yes please!

4. Goals are meant to be set and met!  I have learned to set more realistic goals and to go until I meet them. I used to have the mindset that if I got close that was good enough. I NOW think that the only option is to meet or beat my goal. I am learning that my body is capable, I just have to get my mind and thoughts out of the way!.

Those are the most recent 4 items. I am always learning new things about myself and what I am capable of. I compare a lot of things to running these days. I can find a running analogy to almost any life situation. However, the journey that running is taking me on has in many ways opened up a whole new way of thinking. I still have major issues that I am working on. But running has opened up a door for me to realize that a lot more is possible then what I thought. I just have to believe it is possible and it is!

Obsessed Much

I am becoming more and more aware of my ocd tendancies! I have started my new training plan for my May 10th 1/2 Marathon and I am obsessed. If I don't get those runs in then I feel like I have failed a test! I study the training plan and retype it in my calendar. I am such a worry wart and studier that I have to know everything for the whole 16 weeks on the first day.

So, as I start this training plan and have become fully committed and vested in the training I am also attempting to let go a little. I am still determined to get every long run in that I can and stick as close to the plan as possible. However, I am also trying to spend time letting go. Letting go of the fears and hold backs I have had in my runnning, letting go of my obsession with running, letting go of my thoughts when I am running. Just Let GO! That is slowly becoming a motto.

Ask any of my friends, if I could get paid to run and talk about running, I would be a happy camper. For 2 years now I have been, what I call, a pseodo-runner. There is nothing wrong with taking walk breaks, but for me it has become a crutch. I had convinced myself that I can't do any better so I didn't try. This year however, I have started to change my thinking. No longer is that okay.

Over the past few weeks I have started to slowly turn my thinking from a "this is good enough", to "I can do better". I have started pushing my running time. I am proud when I complete a 4 mile run with no walk break! I actually answer people with a fanatic YES when they ask me if I am a runner. I no longer feel the need to qualify that with, kinda. I AM A RUNNER!

Just wanted to put that out there. I don't run because I am being chased. I run because I enjoy the feeling of my feet hitting the ground (or treadmill) and the calm and patience it gives me when I am done. I run becaues it is setting a good example for my daughters. I run because when stress of my job and life in general starts to be to much, running lets it out. Most importantly I RUN!