Running

Change is constant.  In everything we do in life, change is always there to throw a curve ball.  As I finish up with week three of my marathon training plan, closing with a 10 mile run this weekend (down two miles from last weekend), I finally feel like I have adjusted to one of the biggest changes of our lives - our move to Colorado.  A mile and some change above sea level, I remember our first run here vividly - a torturous 5 mile, incredible hilly run.  Huffing, puffing, and cursing along the way, my husband and I pushed our kids in the double, alternating on pushing from mile to mile - these hills here had nothing on the Holcomb Blvd "hills" we were used to.....in a few short words, the run was a hot mess.  I was devastated.  Going from comfortably running a reasonable amount of mileage to barely making it a mile before I wanted to kill myself was quite the curve ball.  After two months of painfully slow runs, struggling to push the kids in the double, recovering from a minor outpatient surgery, my confidence in my running ability has slowly started to return.  It can be so hard when you get in a running rut - the last thing that anyone wants to do is get out there and run, especially when you don't feel like it, or feel like you totally suck at it.  Let's face it, who wants to do something you suck at?  For me, I have to push myself through those rough patches in order to regain that confidence back, to stay consistent.  Fast forward three months later, I finally feel like I am adjusting to running in this altitude and the scenery and the numerous trails around here are to DIE for.

My MCM training plan has me running five days a week, two off days, longer mileage on the weekends.  I, like many of my friends training to run this event, find the rest days excruciating, especially in the early weeks of low mileage runs.  Running for many of us is like a drug - something we have to do.  I know I feel so much better, so much more relaxed and at ease if I get a run in.  Because I am me, I do an "active recovery" workout on my rest days - more often than not, I find myself swimming on my off days.  I find that an hour long swim has me swimming roughly 1850 meters - often I stick a pool buoy between my legs and just swim arms, and this really gives my legs the break they so desperately need.  So, if anyone is searching for something else to throw in the mix, swimming is an excellent low impact alternative to give the stems a break!

While I am getting used to running up here, I still find it takes me at least 2 or 3 miles for my legs to shake that heavy feeling.  Every time I set out to long run, toward the beginning of my run, my legs feel like bricks - so heavy - but after I get over those first few miles, I start feeling that "runner's euphoria" and feel really good.  My body eventually goes on auto pilot until I know I am only a mile out, then, pretty much automatically, I speed up, anxious to be done with the run.   A lot of times (and I have heard my husband say this multiple times), women particularly don't fully open their hips while running - next time you're out, scope out some female runners and see - I found that in auto pilot, I slip into the mode where my steps are swifter but my gait is shorter.  On my easy shorter runs, I really try to focus on my  legs, my stride, and open my hips while I run.

So now, my focus is getting the mileage I need during the week, widening my stride, and focusing on consistency on my long runs.  In no way or shape am I a seasoned runner or a veteran runner, or anything amazing in the field of running - I just found something I enjoyed, that my children enjoyed, that provided me with a sense of inner peace - and I never would have come to find that this running thing has become a passion.  As much as my life as a military spouse has been less than happy, less than peaceful, finding Stroller Warriors and seeing how the women in this group embrace and support one another has been a highlight of this crazy life many of us endure.

As I continue on with my MCM training, I am beyond anxious to get out there and run it, to see how hard I can push myself, how much my training has paid off, but even more so, I am excited to return to the East Coast, to see my family, and to see and run alongside my girls.  And the icing on the cake will be being able to take Leo with me - for anyone that knows Leo, he LOVES airplanes and is beyond excited to ride on a jumbo jet!

Happy running to all, and to all a good night!