What I Did on my Running Vacation

Like most marked periods of time, I came up with a list of things I wanted to do on my running vacation:

5. Finish my thesis: I didn’t finish the thing, but I did adjust my topic, do plenty of research, change my topic a bit and start narrowing my focus.

4. Convert Undecideds to vote for Obama: Not only did I score a couple of undecided voters for the Obama camp, I worked hard enough to educate two Nobamas to the good guys. And you can still donate to the campaign, using the link to the right →

3. Gathering my friends to recreate the Feist video: I wish...

2. Heal my ITBS: check!

1. Make decorating strides with my hous: One living room down, a bedroom to go!

The break, which started Sept. 29, the day after my recovery run from the Akron Marathon, was nice and not really a break at all. I rode my trainer-racked bike 5-6 days each week and renewed my religious vows to yoga and even more so to Pilates.

All that keeping up made my return to training this evening pretty swell. I ran four miles at 9:20/mile and felt great the whole run, despite the blustering winds and the chilly temps for which I’m not ready.

Lucky for me: I live by the lake, which makes the air not-so-cold.

That’s speaking very relatively.

I hit some fatigue points along the way—my body’s way of saying “WTF? I thought we gave this up, girl?” But I persisted and pushed past two very premature walls and cruised to the end feeling grateful for my health and ability to get back to it.

(I was also grateful for the Nike running tights I bought on clearance this summer. They totally neutralized the heat in my legs and the ice in the air. Surprisingly, too, they felt better than the Mizuno tights after whom I'd planned to name my firstborn. If only I had found my gloves!)

After last year’s injury and this year’s ITBS, I’ve learned to appreciate the running break. There’s something to taking off a few weeks and resuming your training anew. My leg doesn’t hurt and my body feels rested. It almost makes me want to have a healthy approach to training!

This bout with training, though, is an in-betweener: I’m warming up for the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day (I’ll also be cooking my first 14-person dinner that day), after which I’ll take another couple weeks rest before I get in the long haul. I’m going to race in Cleveland this May. And I might just do another marathon.

Speaking of marathons, muchos congratulations to Landon, who ran a stellar 3:58:26 at Columbus a couple weeks ago. I watched him cross checkpoints online, and I was awed at his steady pace and ability to hit negative splits from the 10K on. And as the projected finish time approached, Neil and I sat in the living room, wildly cheering Landon to the end... and then he beat his expected arrival by at least two minutes. Now that’s the way to run a race!

And that was what I did on my running vacation.

Looking Back on a Couple Years of Running

It was about this time in 2006 that I stared at a registration page for the Bowman Cup 5K Race at Kent State. I had tried to start running that summer, but only managed a steady run-a-few/walk-a-few routine that resulted in only a couple straight miles at a time.

Then we vacationed in Boston that August and almost all was lost.

A few weeks from race day, I wimped out on signing up. I was afraid I couldn't run 3.1 miles!

Truth is I probably couldn't have run the full 5K in late 2006. I didn't have a clue how to start running or how to get past the point at which I wanted to die. And I really only knew how to run hard and fast without any hope for endurance whatsoever.

I'm not sure what clicked for me in January 2007, but my running life has really looked up since then. So, I thought it was only appropriate to look back on my old self, having run a couple half marathons and my first marathon, less than two years from skipping a 3+ miler.

My running isn't worlds different -- in fact, I'm probably a little slower than I was at the start --
but my training is better. Without the lessons and advice I've received from friends, from the blogosphere, from friends from the blogosphere, I'd probably have either quit running or been forced to stop by multiple injuries beyond my wildest dreams.

Plus, I would have never earned all the cupcakes I've eaten over the past year and a half.

I've told everyone the biggest surprise of my 2008 Akron Marathon was by miles 23 or 24, I was already thinking about my next marathon. I was giddy for most of the race and yelped in celebration as I crossed the finish. Talk about an awesome time.

Never did I doubt I'd cross the finish, which is a long road from the chica who thought she couldn't finish a 5K, then a 5-miler, then a 10-miler, then the Akron half last year. Less than two years ago, I remember driving 26 miles from Stow to Mayfield, Ohio, and telling Neil that I'd never be able to run that far. I hadn't ever run 26+ miles before last Saturday, but now I have. What can't I do?

So, thanks to everyone who has pushed, pulled and patted me along the way. From training advice and warnings to parsing tips and racing strategies, everyone has left their marks on my stride. Here's to many more runs, races and recoveries for us all!