Dare I Say It?

Folks, I’m very happy to announce that this past week Heather got her groove back.  Oh, yes, she did!

After I wrote my last post about being in a bit of a slump, I ended up taking a week off from running.  And I actually think it helped rather than hurt me.  Halfway through my journey to 13.1 seemed like a logical breaking point.  So take a break I did.

Last week I skipped my weekday runs and attempted to make my comeback with 8 miles on Saturday morning.  Note: it was completely, disgustingly hot and humid in the Dirty Jerz last weekend.  No matter how early I woke up, it was going to be bad.  I hit the road around 6:15 or so but ended up only running 4 miles.  I guess I shouldn’t have expected to take a week off and jump in with both feet for 8 miles, but at least I tried!  I don’t consider this a failure.

The real magic started to happen on Monday of this week.  Not only have I gotten back on track with my training plan, but I’ve also cleaned up my act where eating is concerned.  I have to admit that I’ve not been making the best food choices of late.  This week, however, I’ve been a rock star, and I really think I’m back in the groove food-wise.

And since they say one good decision follows another, I ran 4 miles on Monday (outside), rode 9.5 miles on the stationary bike at the gym on Tuesday (and my sore backside is proof positive of that!), ran 4 miles Wednesday, and another 3 yesterday.  This is super for me – this is actually the very first time I’ve cross-trained since I started running back in May.  I’m not sure biking is the way to go for me, but I’m going to try some other things as well – yoga’s been tempting me for a while, and I’m also kind of itching to check out the aqua aerobics class at my gym! 

Finally, I’ve even discovered the mood-altering effect running/exercise can have on a person.  Wednesday happened to find me in a very foul mood.  I was down pretty much all day (I’m blaming hormones) and didn’t want to do anything – sit at my desk and do work, go outside at lunch and read a book, and especially run.  Despite all of that, I took myself to the gym after dinner and ran 4 miles on the treadmill.  It was hot and humid again, and I knew I wouldn’t make it outside given my mood.  I felt tons better about myself as I walked back to my car that night. 

And yesterday I got mucho tired in the late afternoon.  I fell into a pretty deep sleep on the bus on my way home from work and didn’t even want to rouse myself to get off!  When I got home, I really just wanted to take a nap.  But did I?  No!  And not just because Darcy would never allow that after being cooped up all day!  I went on autopilot, changed into my running clothes, and headed out.  I ended up running what was possibly my fastest 3 miles yet in 36:25.  Once I stopped sweating, my energy was renewed!  I had dinner, took Darcy out by the pool to hang out, packed up my lunch for today, and then waited for my friend Alyssa to come over to catch up and go for a walk.  I felt awesomely productive last night.

In a nutshell, this is the kind of week I’m going to hold onto and make myself think of in the future when I’m wanting to slack off and skip a training run.  For now, though, life is sweet and the running is good.  What more can I ask for?

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