Operation ‘Lose 15.5 Pounds Before the Wedding’ commences today.
You take the good, you take the bad…
I haven’t posted in a while, and most of my posts have been running logs. That keeps me accountable, but doesn’t say a whole lot about what’s been going on in my life.
Life is very good. I met a new man (on match.com. Yes, yes, I know…) and things have been going very well. Other than the “new relationship dance” of trying to figure each other out and how we and a relationship fit into each others’ single lives, being with him has been absolutely wonderful. He is sweet, loving, supportive, helpful, handy, encouraging, smart, goal oriented, and loves to have fun and do things. We have been dating for nearly two months now and, while that doesn’t seem like a very long time, I feel like I’ve known him forever.
So, after the trauma of my last dysfunctional relationship to someone completely off his rocker, this aspect of my life has settled back into balance quite nicely.
Now, my eating and running has started to suffer.
I run a half marathon in 17 weeks and I had one of my worst runs in a while this morning. A number of factors are at play here. 1) It is unbearably hot and humid in NC these days and my runs have slowed down quite a bit. 2) I have been eating crap: fried pickles yesterday for lunch (SO GOOD!) and store-bought jalapeno pimento cheese on toasted bread probably 4-5 times a week, cookies, gourmet chocolate mints, etc. Not a fruit or veg in sight! 3) Because of #2 and my lax eating, I have put on about 5-8 pounds over the last 9 months or so. It’s hard to run with extra weight weighing you down. 4) I am too quick to give up and walk when I run on my own.
In order to start making myself accountable in other aspects of my life, not just running, I’m going to start being a whole lot more active on here, posting food-related blogs, general life celebrations and frustrations, activities, just doing life in general. I feel like I need to get back into blogging because it takes me outside of myself and brings other people in. And that’s a good thing because then I can’t gloss over anything because no one else knows about it.
Are you ready, guys? All four of you?
The 53 Runner’s Commandments by Joe Kelly
1. Don’t be a whiner. Nobody likes a whiner, not even other whiners.
2. Walking out the door is often the toughest part of a run.
3. Don’t make running your life. Make it part of your life.
4. During group training runs, don’t let anyone run alone.
5. Keep promises, especially ones made to yourself.
6. When doing group runs, start on time no matter who’s missing.
7. The faster you are the less you should talk about your times.
8. Keep a quarter in your pocket. One day you’ll need to call for a ride.
9. Don’t compare yourself to other runners.
10. All runners are equal, some are just faster than others.
11. Keep in mind that the later in the day it gets, the more likely it is that you won’t run.
12. For a change of pace, get driven out and then run back.
13. If it was easy, everybody would be a runner.
14. When standing in starting lines, remind yourself how fortunate you are to be there.
15. Getting out of shape is much easier than getting into shape.
16. A bad day of running still beats a good day at work.
17. Talk like a runner. “Singlets” are worn on warm days. “Tank tops” are worn to the beach.
18. Don’t talk about your running injuries. People don’t want to hear about your sore knee or black toe.
19. Don’t always run alone.
20. Don’t always run with people.
21. Approach running as if the quality of your life depended on it.
22. No matter how slow you run it is still faster than someone sitting on a couch.
23. Keep in mind that the harder you run during training, the luckier you’ll get during racing.
24. Races aren’t just for those who can run fast.
25. There are no shortcuts to running excellence.
26. The best runs sometimes come on days when you didn’t feel like running.
27. Be modest after a race, especially if you have reason to brag.
28. If you say, “Let’s run this race together,” then you must stay with that person no matter how slow.
29. Think twice before agreeing to run with someone during a race.
30. There is nothing boring about running. There are, however, boring people who run.
31. Look at hills as opportunities to pass people.
32. Distance running is like cod liver oil. At first it makes you feel awful, then it makes you feel better.
33. Never throw away the instructions to your running watch.
34. Don’t try to outrun dogs.
35. Don’t trust runners who show up at races claiming to be tired, out of shape, or not feeling well.
36. Don’t wait for perfect weather. If you do, you won’t run very often.
37. When tempted to stop being a runner, make a list of the reasons you started.
38. Never run alongside very old or very young racers. They get all of the applause.
39. Without goals, training has no purpose.
40. During training runs, let the slowest runner in the group set the pace.
41. The first year in a new age group offers the best opportunity for trophies.
42. Go for broke, but be prepared to be broken.
43. Spend more time running on the roads than sitting on the couch.
44. Make progress in your training, but progress at your own rate.
45. “Winning” means different things to different people.
46. Unless you make your living as a runner, don’t take running too seriously.
47. Runners who never fail are runners who never try anything great.
48. Never tell a runner that he or she doesn’t look good in tights.
49. Never confuse the Ben-Gay tube with the toothpaste tube.
50. Never apologize for doing the best you can.
51. Preventing running injuries is easier than curing them.
52. Running is simple. Don’t make it complicated.
53. Running is always enjoyable. Sometimes, though, the joy doesn’t come until the end of the run.
Dudes. Four words for you: Hue. Mid. Ih. TEE!!!! Oh my God, the humidity this morning! I don’t care what the temperature was outside, with humidity at close to 100%, it was very hard to run. But I did okay. Not my best, not my worst. I gotta get used to the humidity, though.
Oh. Em. Gee. This map alone should serve as an indicator of how incredibly hard this was. Seriously. That might have been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life! I fell once, about two miles in, going downhill, and several times stepped on a rock or root and had to overcompensate to avoid twisting the hell out of my ankle. There was a massive MASSIVE hill between 1.80 and 2 miles that just about had me thinking that death may be preferable than trying to finish. Fortunately, I powered through and did not die. Once again, I stopped my Garmin a bit later than I actually crossed the finish line, so this time is a little off. Dude.
This morning was one of those runs where you’re thinking to yourself in the middle of it, “I don’t want to jinx myself, but it feels like I may be kicking this run’s ass!” And I did! One second off my personal best pace ever! And this run was a mile longer than that! I surprised myself in many ways this morning, starting with jumping right out of bed at 5am.
Much MUCH better run overall. Much better time, much better pace. I ran the opposite way that I ran the loop the last few times, simply for logistic purposes (avoiding getting squashed by cars on the leg with no sidewalk), and I think it was a good idea. Granted, I don’t get to end the run by going down a really steep hill, but it’s probably better for my knees that way anyway.
Moral of the story is…I’ve gotten too comfortable slacking off. Even though I have been mentoring the C25K group, I haven’t done a big run since Monday. That can’t happen any more or I am not going to be ready for my half in October. Time to get serious, Sarah.
