Yoga Pants Life

**I started this post several weeks ago, but somehow couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I’m not really sure why. Anyway, here it is – a really long, boring, drawn-out post about my recent running mishaps.

If I was posting about my relationship with running on Facebook, my current relationship status would be ‘it’s complicated.’ I’m not sure if ‘we are on a break’ is an option, but if it was, it would be the best fit for my current situation (I learned way back in 2007/2008-ish, right around the time of a breakup, that advertising your relationship status in any way, shape or form on FB was a bad idea…unless, I guess, if you are married.)

Anyway, I had the worst race of my life a few weeks ago. I limped across the finish line after being in the blistering hot sun for over 3 hours. On top of no sleep the night before and San Diego’s hottest day of the year (so far,) I injured my ‘good’ calf at mile 8. I absolutely should have stopped, but I was over halfway there at that point and figured it would stop hurting if I walked instead (I was wrong.) I wasn’t even that slow when I was 30 pounds heavier.

After wallowing in my Michelob Ultra at the finish line festival (I’m usually a beer snob, but let me tell you, all traces of snobbery go away after a race,) I made my way back to my aunt and uncle’s house, threw the front door open and announced ‘well that sucked donkey balls’ to everyone in the living room (oops…but yay for a cool family that doesn’t mind my less-than appropriate language.) I showered, ate and had a lovely afternoon going to quilt shops with my mom, aunt and cousin (yay for llama fabric!!!) and it helped put things into perspective a bit.

I’m still in a bit of a funk over the race. Regardless of crappy race conditions, it’s 100% my fault that I had a sucky race. I’ve been at this running thing for nearly 10 years with no real improvement since 2012. Granted, I haven’t really pushed myself to do speed or strength work and since I ‘train’ 100% on my own, it’s sometimes difficult to stay accountable and run all the miles I need to. I keep saying it needs to change, but have taken very little concrete action to do so.

So what now?

I’m taking a few weeks off from running to let my calves heal. I’m not in any pain right now, but something in there still feels off, especially when I walk more than a few thousand steps a day or walk up a ton of stairs (nearly unavoidable, given I live in a 2-story condo,) but it’s getting better every day (and three weeks later at the time I’m hitting ‘publish’ it’s pretty much normal again!)  I’m swimming when I can and I plan to start adding more in as my leg feels better. Hopefully I’ll fully resume running by July.

I’m not sure if it was the best idea, but I signed up for two ‘redemption’ races (thanks to awesome global running day sales.) The first is October 28th – the LA Rock n’ Roll half and the next is the San Diego Rock n’ Roll Marathon next year (both races combined were cheaper than ‘late’ registration for my local half marathon.) I’m not sure if I’ll actually run the full marathon in San Diego or drop back to the half, but it’s easier to sign up for the full and drop to the half if need be (it’s a $10 price difference to sign up for the full now, but would be $40 or more if I decided to do it down the line.)

I LOVE the San Diego race because it’s close-ish to home (aka, doesn’t involve air travel and/or a time change) and I get to see my family while running through the city that’s been my second home my entire life. Hopefully I have a better experience next year, but that’s on me.

All I know is that I don’t want to give up running. And, yes. You can absolutely be a runner without participating in organized events. However, I’ve found that having something tangible to work towards keeps me going and I’m not ready to give it up yet. I really think the best is yet to come…I just have to work for it.

I’m considering enrolling in a virtual group training program. It kills me to shell out money for programs I can find for free, but the thing is that I’ve had access to these programs free for years and clearly I’m not doing a good job on my own. Independent as I am, I think running is one of the areas that I need more support. I’ve emailed one ‘coach’ so far and am waiting for a response, so we shall see. I’m also looking into the Hanson’s Half Marathon Method…I have no doubt it’s a great program…it just seems a bit advanced for me. I guess I’ll find out.

In the meantime, I’m slowly starting to work out again, though I think I’m battling my third (UGH!) sinus infection since February. Fun stuff. I’m trying not to do too much too soon, but I can’t take anymore ‘sitting around’ it’s not good for my mood or waistline – I’ve gotta get back out there!