onepinkfuzzy

So I've got a relay race at the end of March; I'll be running three legs of anywhere from 3 to 8 miles. We haven't had our planning meeting yet to determine who will be running what. I'm a little nervous about this; I've never run a relay, I'm slow and most of the team is fast and I'm not exactly in great shape. I'm taking it easy plunging back into training, which is hard for me to do. I want to be back running 20+ miles a week like nothing! But, alas, I can't. I need to ease into it slowly, so as to not hurt myself.

I'm getting better at the pigeon pose :) The yoga is really helping my body. Last night's class was a beautiful, sensual experience. I'm used to concentrating on the poses as I'm going through the motions, and feeling a sense of grateful release at some point during the class. Last night, the teacher - a sub - wanted us to focus on playing within the poses. Moving back and forth, moving the shoulders, never actually "holding" a pose. We were in constant flux, constant side-to-side or back-and-forth movement within every pose. It was so different, so fun, so joyful, so playful. She kept saying, listen to your body: what does your body want to do? Where does it want to move? I felt like I was dancing. I liked how she emphasized everyone is different, every body is different, everyone's practice would be different. She also had us try the crow pose as well as a head stand - pretty adventurous stuff for this newbie! I wasn't able to hold either pose for more than a few seconds, but it was great fun to try.

I am so sore today from the lunch run yesterday, last night's yoga class and then lugging a heavy laptop around downtown today - I had to report for jury duty. I should find out in the next couple of weeks whether or not I've been excused.

Work has been incredibly busy. It's a little overwhelming, but absolutely awesome. I love being this busy - I get into it, things move smoothly, I'm on a roll. I'm a little tired and sometimes I have to stop and take deep breaths :) Yoga breathing, I remind myself.

Yesterday's lunch run was beautiful. I managed to get out before it hailed, and the nippy chill in the air was great. My pace is definitely slow - 11:40/mile, and that felt tiring. I had about .75 to go when my legs felt shaky and I realized I was STARVING. I wanted to be done, and I felt like I couldn't go on. I got discouraged with that feeling, because I had only run 2.5 miles at that point! And I want to run an ultra?! I've RUN two ultras and I'm feeling like I can't run after 2.5 miles?!?!?! AAAAAAAA!!!!! But I just dug deep, said this is great training and focused on the street light that signaled the home stretch. It was great to get back into that groove - that deep groove of running mentality. Geez, it's been awhile since I've been there!

I am excited that a friend is willing to meet me early Tuesday mornings to get 5 miles in before work on a weekly basis. I ran with him for a little bit last fall, and our conversations flowed easily. I'm looking forward to starting that back up again. You know, it's just that much easier to make sure I actually get out there and run when I'm supposed to meet someone. Once the sun starts coming up earlier and it gets slightly warmer, Paki and I will start our pre-work runs again (I can't wait!). Probably twice a week - once up at the River Path and once down near me. And Kiera and I have our Saturday morning trail runs as well. I took a quiz in a recent Runner's World - what kind of runner are you? - and no surprise, I'm a socializer!

Right now, I've got about three days a week of evening yoga and four days a week of running 3 to 5 miles in the mornings or at lunch. I'm hoping to get a few runs of up to 10 miles before the relay; I'll probably do a couple runs on Saturday afternoons after Kiera and I run, just to get my body used to running more than once, to simulate the relay conditions. Once the relay is over, I can start really working on building my base mileage toward the fall marathon. It feels like the marathon is too far away; I want a race closer in time, but it's too hot in the desert to have any races in the summer. Sigh. Although I worry about getting burned out on training or getting discouraged or losing faith/sight in the goal, I think it's good to have till September to train - I'll be able to gradually, gently, up my miles and take care of my body. I should also get some good heat training in by continuing to run in the spring and summer months.

I've started outlining my miles per day/week for the upcoming few months, but got stuck for the after-relay part. I have to find out with Kiera/Mike which days would work best to start incorporating long runs (Saturday or Sunday). To properly train for the marathon in Flagstaff - at elevation - during the hot hot summer in Tucson - we'll need to do our long runs (up to 20 miles/4 hours on trails) up on Mt. Lemmon. Once you count drive time in, that's a good 6 to 7 hours toward our weekly long run! From what I understand, at this point in time, Kiera is aiming to do the marathon. She's just got some logistics to work out first (like finding someone to watch her kids for an entire day so she can go run).

I'm also happy to get back into thinking about food as fuel - this is comfort territory, this is what I know. I know how to eat to take care of myself, I know what I need to eat before and after a run, I know how much water I need, I know how to fuel myself on rest days. This is an easy habit to fall back into. Running is motivation to eat well. I'm not nearly as tempted to eat a greasy burger for dinner, knowing I'll be up in the morning running.

I am so relieved to be getting back into training! Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day! (I did actually receive some candy from a coworker, and a friend sent me an absolutely beautiful e-mail this morning, part of which stated: ...if you find yourself without a significant other today, just take a look in the nearest mirror and gaze at the wonderful person that you do get to spend time with... I'm sharing that with all of you, because it's a beautiful sentiment that I believe everyone should internalize. It's my Valentine's gift to you all!)