Up for the Challenge

Somehow I pulled my right soleus last week and ended up going to a CHIROPRACTOR.  The fact I spent over ten years in the insurance adjusting field should tell you why this is "said" in such an incredulous "tone"...  However, to my pleasant surprise, Dr. Olsen took such great care of me I was back up and running (literally) the very next day!!  He didn't do the pop and prod type of chiropractic adjustments...he did Active Release Therapy (think focused massage while moving the muscle). 

Although he told me to stay away from hills...I sort of didn't really listen to that part; this past Sunday I CONQUERED Cecil Ashburn on foot.

Well...maybe "conquered" is a little too strong of a word...but (for the locals) I ran from the Rave theater to my house (just over 9 miles), so it was the "easy" way.  For non-locals, here's the elevation profile from my Garmin (you can see why the direction I ran was "easy", right?  (I did go VERY slow and I walked a couple of times-but only about 30-45 seconds total.)  Wow...this is the first time I've looked at this...makes me realize just how much I didn't listen to the good doctor!

But, as Coach Eric always says, "WE LOVE HILLS!!  HILLS MAKE US STRONG"...today I got some (more) proof of how right he is.  My day started at the pool but that's not the "proof" I want to talk about.  Afterwards I went for a run on the trail I usually take with Daisy (who, sadly, was not with me today).  I am pretty sure our best time together on that trail to date has been 35:XX minutes.  I think my very best time alone has been about 34:XX minutes.  Today.........THIRTY TWO MINUTES AND THIRTY SEVEN SECONDS!!! 

The whole time I was running I felt like I was moving through mud.  It seemed as though I couldn't make my legs GO.  When I would look at my pace it was almost always under, or right around, 9...but I didn't believe it.  I thought my Garmin was not being honest with me, just trying to keep me from quitting.  (The pace usually seems off on the trails.)  When I STOPPED TO TIE MY SHOE and when I STOPPED TO TIE MY SKIRT (because it kept trying to fall off)...I considered walking since I "knew" my time would be so slow.  I decided I had to keep going if only for the experience of slogging out a tough run when I didn't feel up to the challenge. 

I've talked about the part of the route where the trail meets the road before...it's where Daisy used to tell me, "it's only SIX minutes to the car from here".  When I got there I thought I might just slow down to a jog, but THANKFULLY I checked the time instead of just looking at my pace...27:??.  My thoughts at that point: 

"REALLY???  TWENTY SEVEN???....plus 6 is only 33...that's a PR on this route....REALLY???  AS SLOW AS I HAVE FELT ON THIS RUN???  NO WAY I'M SLOWING DOWN NOW!!!"

I didn't PUSH it as hard as I could because it was supposed to be an "easy" run today...and I know speed work is tomorrow.  I kept telling myself I didn't have anything to prove, it wasn't a race, and more than that, it was a TRAINING RUN that was supposed to be EASY.  I was not running as if racing, but I certainly wasn't holding back either!  I wanted that PR...and you should have heard me WHOOP when I stopped my watch and saw I had made it even faster than I expected. 

Yup, again...Eric was right.  I guess it's only five minutes to the car now, huh??

Thanks for stopping in!  Come again soon!
:D