Things I've learned from being an athlete

One minute is a long time.

One mile is a longer distance than you think.

It was meh.

Yes, yes.  I had a half marathon last Sunday.  No, I didn't train for it because of my stupid legs.  No, I did not get a personal best.  In fact, I seem to be getting worse. *sigh*

The course was beautiful- I'll get some pics up next week, hopefully.  It was about 90% along the coast- rocks, waves crashing, sand, seals.  It was great.  And I did enjoy seeing how strong my body is.  Sure, I was in pain, but it's not like the race was really hard for me.  It's my 5th one, I know I can do it.  I wasn't huffing and puffing and didn't want to die at the end.  I can do it. Just not quickly.

I don't know anymore.  I really don't.  During the race, I was quite pessimistic, which I often am during races.  My back started hurting at mile 4 & didn't really quit.  I was thinking, "I'm going to take a year off from races.  Maybe from running.  I'm going to just let my legs heal or figure out what's wrong with them, then I'll get back into it."

So, I was resigned for the end of the race & after.  Then, I had to meet freaking Michael at the taquería where we ate lunch.  Michael is probably in his late 50s or early 60s- and yes, I know that men often hit a second running peak around that age.  But STILL.  He did the half about an hour faster than I did, he's done the full there in Big Sur, which I hear is an atrocious, uphill, bear of a race.  And he does 1:1 splits. That's it. It's the Galloway method, and I looked it up because, heck, I can do 1 minute of running. I can do more than that, but for consistency, that is something me, my legs, & my lungs can get behind. 

So, I was still unsure, but we went to the park today, and I just had to run. Had to.  I was itching to try the 1:1, and it was pretty nice.  I had to figure out a good pace for the run, and once I did, it was easy.  When I was going too fast, it was a little hard.  I did about 2 miles in 27-ish minutes.  Not great, but okay.  I also had the big dog with me, which was a little annoying. 

My plan? Well, I should look at the freaking method again, but I'm thinking that I'll focus on 2 and 3 miles for a while, increasing my running strength & time.  Then I'll add miles.  I am really going to try to not register for a race for quite a while.  I want to be mentally ready to dedicate myself to training properly, and I don't want to be disappointed again in my time.  I need to get to the place where I'm faster so that I don't mind doing the long runs on Saturdays. 

Legs? Oh, they hurt.  Not constantly, but every day.  I suppose I'll go to the sports medicine doctor soon to see if there's anything we can do about the throbbing pain that makes me want to cry.  Oh, and I should keep babying my knees. But as long as I'm wearing my compression sleeves, I really don't feel that much of an increase in pain from running, so I'm going to keep it up.