Saturday, March 16, 2013

Working on my running fitness...

February was a quite a month for running. I was averaging close to 15 miles a week in January and then February arrived, and so did my newest grandson and bad weather and a solidly packed over the top work schedule. It included a gazillion things to write up, too much time on the computer, meetings and a gallery opening for Mar 12th. What it added up to was a whole lot of stress and time otherwise spent on the road doing what And so, something had to give but just a little. I went from 15 to about 10 miles a week of running.  March 2nd I went for a really great run of 7 miles. I felt good and surprised myself that fatigue only set in a bit at the last 1/2 mile.  Unfortunately, something had to give with my stressful hectic schedule. I ended up with an awful cold and laryngitis. Awful! A few days in to this I thought, "I feel a bit better...better go out and run."  Big mistake.  I ended up getting worse! For the next week I became a couch potato. My coach send me a text with a only a big NO. As in no running. It was hard to just sit; and of course go to work and see many runners taking advantage of some rare beautiful weather.  After a cold snap we finally got some warmer termps. It took at least 10 days before I put on my running shoes and headed out on the road again. The whole time I sat on the coach I thought about whether I would keep my fitness; would I lose a lot of the momentum I had built or loose a lot while I was sidelined. Finally on 2nd Thursday of March I got out and ran a few miles. Of course, that day the weather took a dive and the temps were at a wind chill of about 26 degrees! Wind in my face the whole time did not deter me. Of course the first 1/2 mile was a bit torturous. My breathing was off and I was feeling chilly. No matter; by 1 mile in I was feeling good. Checked my watch and discovered I was running at a much faster maintenance pace than I usually run.  By the next morning, I was hurting a bit. Oh No!! My fitness was in trouble??? My coach allayed my fears and assured me it was just feeling achy on my first run after being sick. By the end of that next day, I was back on the road once more for another 3+ miles.  I surprised myself, once again, my time was a bit slower than the day before but still a bit faster than usual.  Feeling good that I'm working on my fitness.  Sometimes you have this apprehension; Will I be able to run the distance? Saturday was a rest day. So glad because it snowed! Today was my long run.  It was a pretty good run after I warmed up because the wind was in my face making me chilly.  It was my first long run in 2 weeks and I  felt pretty good considering I have not run much in 2 weeks.  For me, fitness is an interesting thing.....once you've established it if you fall off for a short while you can get right back again.  A little tired, but 5 miles was certainly doable. Well, the week is about to begin again and so you know you'll find me working on my running fitness once again!