A much needed break

"A perfect run has nothing to do with distance. It's when your stride feels comfortable. You're on your toes trying to push it. Suddenly you realize you can open it up a bit more. You know you're at one with yourself and the environment. You're a little more alive than before you started." - Sean Astin.

I had this feeling this morning during my 8-mile run. It felt really good and I didn't have to talk myself into finishing it, which is really just a great way to start the week.

I think why I felt this good is because I didn't workout at all for four days over the holiday weekend. There were a couple instances where I panicked a little, "omg! I need to go for a run!" But overall, I enjoyed the break and took advantage of the mini vacation with the hubs. Also, the shooting pain that I had radiating from my ankle was gone this morning. Another reason why I probably needed that break - a chance for my body to heal. It's hard for runners sometimes to step back and take a couple days off, but I saw this morning that those couple days only helped my training.

Here's what I got up to, while not running:

We just moved to Charleston, so we spent some time unpacking. Oh, the gems you find while going through some stuff you haven't seen in awhile

We hung out at the beach a bit, which is my favorite place ever. The water was so warm

10 minutes after this picture that cloud behind me let loose with torential downpour, but then 10 minutes after that it was sunny again and we went back to lay out

I ate. A lot. This is an Oreo Cheesecake Popsicle

Me and the hubs grabbed a loaf of bread and black truffle garlic olive oil from a local farmer's market then sat by the river and ate

We also did some unpacking. We barely made a dent though

 

The running schedule for the rest of the week (after that great break):

 

Tuesday - 4 miles

Wednesday - 6

Thursday - 5

Friday - Rest

Saturday - 16

Sunday 2

Tricks and treats

I had an awesome running week... Until today.

I felt so good Tuesday that I rocked out 8 miles before work, finished my APFT in 16:09 Thursday, and busted out 6.5 miles Friday. I woke up today ready to dominate this 12-miler, but didn't even make it a mile before I knew it wasn't happening. It was hot, humid and allergies made my head feel like it weighed 50 pounds. I kept up a walk/run ratio to force myself to go 6 miles out, but I had no motivation to run on the way back. Oh well, 12 miles is 12 miles, either way.

Looking on the bright side, walking let me focus on the beautiful scenery

Another factor that slowed me down were the hills. I have complained about hills on many occasions, but today I want to talk about how I push through this necessary evil. I know everyone has their own technique, whether it's to walk them, lean into it and sprint, or even go backwards (I've seen it happen!). My (weird) trick is that I look to see how big the hill is and come up with a number I think is high enough to count down from and reach the top. Then I look down and count down with each deep breath and don't allow myself to look up until I've reached zero. This way, I'm focused on my breathing and not the hill itself.

Evil.

 

If you read my 50 random things post, you know that I have a thing about counting and that's why this works so well for me, try it out if you're looking for something new, but going backwards keeps your focus away from the hill too because I'm sure you're trying not to fall.

After my (painful) "run" this morning, I was starving! I made a super tasty pizza using a 90 calorie Flatout wrap, shredded cabbage, Lightlife chicken tenders (a vegetarian staple) and this chipotle salsa that was on fi-yah! Om nom nom nom.

I also have to highlight these new Under Armour running shorts I got this week. Amazing. They are so lightweight and they don't ride up at all. I think I need to get a pair in every color available.

Well here's to hoping my run tomorrow is better than today!