Monday Motivation: Honor Your Pace.

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 Here are some snapshots, quotes, and moments that brought me happiness, joy, and reminded me to be healthy. 

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I think the high light of my week fitness-wise was when the man asked "What are you still doing here?" 

It was Friday morning at 7am. I have my workouts stacked this summer in such a way that most mornings, I'm out of the house by 6am, if not sooner. By leaving that early, I can run or get to the gym before work. When he asked that though, I knew I was forming good habits. Good habits so much so that someone was noticing. My pants are fitting a little better, I have not taken my measurements though. My runs are getting a little quicker. However I do need to start incorporating stretching back into my regular routine OR A really GOOD yoga session 1x weekly. I was starting to have some minor knee pain on my four mile run this past Saturday. I foam rolled, and felt a little better. 

The mile 4 run this past Saturday was ultimately about being enjoying being alive. 

Alive to breath, to run, to set my pace. I didn't have a goal time in mind at first, but I knew I needed to knock out those 4 miles no matter what. The tragic news in the headlines again this past week, I just really-really wanted to take a moment and honor my body and how far it's gotten me. 

My fastest mile ever was 8 min 30 secs, probably back in 2014. Now, 4 years later, I've completed my first marathon, 3 half marathons, 3 Murphs, and countless other fun events. 

I've gained some weight, and lost some weight. It's amazing the things I've been able to put my body through. Last year though, just before the marathon I developed patella femoral pain syndrome. Essentially my tendon on the outside of my left leg was so tight it was pulling my knee cap to the side, and was causing it track wrong. Which then led to excruciating knee pain. 

At one point it felt as if someone was taking a blow torch to my knee. It burned and it was painful. During my training runs, if I didn't load up on an anti-inflammatory OR some KT pain, it was bound to buckle. My time slowed but I didn't want to miss my goal of finishing a full marathon. 

I did 1 round of PT, kept stretching, did my exercises, and have relatively gone a year without too much pain. This year I plan to stay ahead of the pain by getting back into yoga and foam rolling regularly. 

Luckily I made it through those 26.2 without further long term damage. 

In my running career, I've had that initial LOVE for the freedom of the run. The breeze rushing past my skin, the way my legs and lungs burned with the intensity of pushing my body to it's limits. I've hated running at some points. Well...rather...hated how my body felt, not the action. I've used running to overcoming my anxieties, and it has even pulled me out of the some of the darkest points of my life. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is, all these things that seemingly tried to break me, developed me into the woman and runner I am today. 

There's a not so famous quote out there that says "You never know which body is going to show up on race day." You can train well for months and months but still have the worst race ever. There will be other race days where you will be so over come with emotion that you break free from the group and push through to a new goal, you'll set a PR! 

The truth is, I haven't always honored my body or my pace. I've been mad and frustrated that I couldn't or didn't do better. However, now that I've been through the first stages of love with running and accepting my body, I'm entering into a slightly more mature love, where I am letting go of perfection and welcoming just the feel of knowing that running helps with my mental fog, emotional fatigue, and cardiovascular health. I love how my body feels when I eat right and exercise. 

I have so much more to say on this subject...which I will have to save for tomorrow. I am starting to get so sleepy and my thinking is becoming increasingly my fleeting. 

Blessings 

A