WHAT I DID
Well, I did something I thought I would never do....I went to a chiropractor!! Having been an insurance adjuster for 10 years, I'm really not very fond of them...but Spine Care came highly recommended by some runners in the group (namely, my coach). I have to say (after 2 appointments)...I'm very glad I went. He told me I need to build up strength in my ankles and calves (which is what I thought), and my core. He did not tell me I needed an "adjustment" in my spine-which would have made me run out screaming! He did some electrical stimulation on my calf muscles and then had me do some exercises with a super heavy resistance band. He also said I'd only "need" to go a few times.
I went to the first appointment on Wednesday and called it "cross training"...so I "rested" Thursday and ran two miles yesterday. I did a seven minute warm up walk....and then I tried really hard to do the four/one intervals but I didn't make it.
I just looked at my time, and I'm actually VERY PLEASED...I did two miles in 23 minutes....average of 11:36. I ran a total of 18.5 minutes of that time. My average speed was 5:20, but my fastest speed was 7:80 ((pace of 7:42)). That's better than I thought it was going to be. My longest run interval was five minutes.
I noticed a MARKED improvement in how my calves were feeling. After the run (and shower) I went to Spine Care for my second appointment.
WHAT I LEARNED
After looking at my stats, I'm reminded (AGAIN) that how I feel is never going to be a good measure of how I'm doing.
I CAN DO THIS!!!!!! I can't remember if I said it in the post after the group run (and I'm too lazy to go look)...but Tuesday night was probably the first time I really thought, "I CAN do this" without having doubts. I think I've pushed past the initial excitement of it, although I do still really love to run, it's not the same as it was in the very beginning. I'm not saying I won't have doubts again, but I honestly see myself running the marathon in December....and maybe even doing an ultra after that.
Dress cooler. The thing is I really HATE being cold. Since I haven't been running as much as I'm starting to now, I've been okay most days, but I got very hot after the two mile run. We'll start running longer distances each week so I've got to remember that.
WHAT I'M GOING TO DO
Stick with the plan.
Cross train in earnest. The chiro suggested a balance ball and resistance bands, but for now I have a great Pilates DVD that I'll break out. I might even do that G-Ball work out again.
"NEW WAY OF EATING" --ZONE NEWS--
By the way, the "new way of eating" is still going strong. I've been having a really hard time eating all the food on the plan so I think I'll cut my calories down a bit. I set up my plan for "moderate weight loss" so changing it will lower the count down just a bit for each meal, which will be good for me because I am not liking how full I feel after meals. I know what I'm eating is very good for me and there's not one meal that's over 500 calories ((!!!)), but it's still a lot of food volume-wise. (Darling husband has lost about 6 pounds, and is sticking with it.....I haven't lost any weight, but I think there's a biological reason for that right now, so I'm going to resist thinking about it for another week!!)
Thanks for stopping in, come again soon.
