Richmond Marathon -- reflections

I’d like to start off this post with a look at my Believe I am training journal from this year. Back in January, I wrote out my running goals for the year in a flow chart:

Although I didn't look back at this page more than once or twice during the whole year, it must have lodged itself into sub-conscious, because most of the stepping stones in this diagram got done. I worked on my form (arguably still bad, but it’s better). I embraced that fact that I have introverted tendencies thanks to the book “Quiet: the power of introverts” by Susan Cain and learned to protect my need for alone time. I got advice on how to improve my sleep habits, which included decreasing screen time before bed, watching my coffee habits, and setting time aside to ‘wind down’ before bed. My iron and vitamin D levels are back to a healthy place, thank you supplements!

What else was key to achieving the goals I wrote in my Believe I am months ago? Well, taking it easy over the summer was important. I knew that marathon training would be taxing, so I just cruised through June-July-August without stressing over long runs or super challenging workouts. Another critical thing was doing consistent core work (planks, mostly) and foam rolling during marathon training. Sometimes I had to practically bribe myself into doing my plank circuit, but ultimately I think it helped. I also threw out any notions about how I ‘should’ eat. I ate more cookies/ice cream/fried food than I care to admit. But ultimately not depriving myself during training also helped me ‘save’ my mental gumption for when it *really* counted (i.e. during workouts). My training group also pulled me along during the runs when I felt exhausted/grouchy/stressed and more miles of this training were shared than any of my other training cycles. Despite the higher mileage, I made sure I went out with friends whenever I could.  When necessary I went to bed at 9pm to get a full night of sleep before a big workout.

Ultimately, the key to it all was listening to my body. I adjusted workouts when I needed to, I adjusted mileage when I needed to, and I ate what I needed to.

And now with a marathon PR of 3:03:43 (details here), I have a clear goal for 2015. Chase that sub-3 hour time and have fun along the way!

Joie de vivre

-An enjoyment of life in a hearty, carefree way; a delight in being alive- 

Sometime in the last year (years?), my joie de vivre gently faded. The days began ticking by in a generic way. I’m sure you can relate; we all feel like that sometimes. Slogging through days that are neither good nor bad nor notable is not the happiest way to live. Apathy creeps in at some point and it’s hard to kick it back out. I wouldn’t say those days were bad or miserable, but they were incomplete. 

 

A couple major life changes in the last few months gave me the opportunity to re-evaluate my values, my big and small goals, and how I use my time. I thought about what activities have brought me inherent pleasure throughout my life. What times have I felt so caught up in the moment that time becomes irrelevant? When do I get that feeling that All is well in the world and I am so happy to be a part of it right now. 

I compared my list of joy-bringing activities to what I was actually doing. Quickly found a major time drain: too much mindless computer/phone time (although I love my social media time, it can *easily* get out of hand, not to mention movies and TV, which I also watch on my computer). 

My ‘loves’ list was simple: I love nature, I love being physically active in nature, I love creating art and enjoying art by others, and of course I love sharing all of these things with other people I care about. There are a multitude of details within each of my joys that shape my personal intricacies, and they are allowed to fluctuate and morph.  But we all know running is my favorite outdoor exercise!

Getting back in touch with my joy-bringers brought me back to a joie de vivre, and with it comes with a luscious sense of wholeness, at least in some moments. 

And let me tell you, that feeling? It’s the bee's knees.

What brings you joie de vivre?

Reflections (on a year)

It’s been about a year since I started reflecting on my running in blogger-ville. How much can change for a runner in a year? We ALL know the answer: A LOT. Here are some of my favorite changes.

 1. Getting faster. Duh, of course this is fun. Chopped about a minute off my 5k PR. Win.

A 5k PR moment

     2. The Oiselle Mesh tank. I can’t get enough of this thing. Every time I wear it I feel fast, sleek, and stylish without fail. It also got my through the Southern summer weather, which is quite a feat!

Just a regular run...and sweaty as can be.

    3.  Running more volume and more days.  Post-Boston Marathon, I decided to make the change from running 5 days a week to 6-7. I love it and my body is handling it quite well since I started paying attention to the word “easy” in the phrase “easy run”.

    4. Inspiration a la Eugene X2!

The Pre-Classic was my first major track meet to attend and it was so amazing. Watching international folks throw down IN PERSON is crazy awesome (although I love watching flotrack)

Mo and Galen tearin' in up!

 Then, the Olympic Trials…heaps of excitement everywhere! It was impossible not to leave the trials feeling invigorated about the sport of running and feeling more patriotic than I have ever really felt.

Ladies lined up for the 5k

      Both of these track-tacular events gave me the urge to really work on my speed and maybe run a track race myself someday (ha, we’ll see about that!) 

      

      5. Letting go of marathon goals for a while. After my hard-to-swallow Boston Marathon experience, I haven’t been fired up to run a marathon again anytime soon. Partially because my life is not conducive to such training right now, and partially because there are other distances out there that I can work on.  As I mentioned in a previous post, short races are lower stakes in terms of commitment, which is a nice mental break. 
     
    6. Staying injury free *knock on wood*.  I had just recovered from an injury a year ago, and I’ve managed to ward off any other major problems except a really weird blister that I keep getting every once and a while. 

      

      7. Living in a new place, with new races, and new running buddies. Don’t get me wrong, I MISS all of my old running pals, my favorite routes, and my annual races (like the Resolution Run on new year day), but it’s pretty cool to scope out a new territory, get the lay of the land (HILLY, here) and race against the locals. 

Not an example of hilly, but a cool viewpoint down the tracks

                                  What changes have you had  in your running over the last year? 

Just for fun: racing

Yes, it is amazing to complete a hard training cycle and nail a PR. Yes, it is fun to look forward to race for months. Yes, it is fun to be prepared. Yes, it is fun to go the  'pain place' as some of my friends call it.

But I am not doing any of those things in the next month (except the 'pain-place' part), because sometimes you gotta race just for the sake of racing. There are no blistering times in store. There are no expectations (or so I'm telling myself). There have been no elaborate training plans. There will only be spontaneous racing.

I think it's easy to let pride get in the way of the joys of racing. Many don't want to race unless they are going to be in tip-top shape or can threaten a PR.  But half of the fun of racing is the opportunity to compete, the rush of adrenaline that surges when the gun goes off, and the pleasant fatigue after it's all over.  All of those feelings can be enjoyed without optimal fitness.

Let the spur of the moment racing begin! First up: Green Lake Gobble 5k!