Running Lately

**I know I was supposed to do my Randomy Randomness Part 2 today but I am saving it for Thursday since I had some running stuff I wanted to get off my chest!** 

Also, this post is really honest, and I am admitting things I think/feel that I am not proud of.

I haven't felt like running much over the past two weeks. I have felt slow, sore, and lazy. I want to want to run. Most days, my body says otherwise.

People keep saying "you have to recover". But BDR was over two weeks ago. Shouldn't I be recovered by now? Part of me is also like, "Recover from what!? I sucked at BDR. It was a race, but I have had faster training runs. I didn't need two weeks to recover from those." (Don't you love how I have to keep telling you how I have had faster training runs? It's because I don't want you to think BDR was the BEST I can do. Ugh, I hate that about me.)

It is hard for me to accept that my body is just not feeling RUNNING right now. I know why this is hard for me to accept. It's because I didn't reach my goal at BDR. If I had reached my goal... If I had simply run 15 seconds per mile faster, it would be so much easier to say, "Okay Megan, you deserve some recovery. And not days. Weeks."

Isn't that silly? I know it is silly. 

My paces have been all over the place lately. While I have hit sub 8 paces and some 9+ paces, most of my runs have been about 20 seconds slower per mile than normal. BUT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. I'M SUPPOSED TO CHILLAX. SO WHY DO I CARE!?

Because I'm a runner, that's why! I guess?

FYI: I usually look at my paces after my run, not during. If I look at my average pace during a run, it is not until I have one mile left to go.

Yesterday, after two days of rest, I decided I was going to run and I was going to LIKE IT. I got dressed, washed my face, brushed my teeth, picked out my clothes, and loaded up my MP3 player. I was hydrated on coffee only and my fuel was the miniature chocolates I ate right before bed... 13 hours beforehand. (This sounds weird but sometimes I run better on an empty stomach! Not always.)

"I'm going to have a good run," I told myself. But it didn't mean I would. After two days of rest, my legs didn't feel good or bad. Like most of my runs lately, I wasn't going to know how I felt until I was actually out there running.

"Just relax baby," Paul told me. "Go for a jog."

"Ew, don't call it a jog!!!" I'm a runner, damn it!

Dressed in shorts, a long sleeve, fleece vest, gloves, and a buff that covered my ears, I hit the streets. The thermometer had read 40 degrees but the wind was biting. It must have been below freezing because less than 30 seconds into my run, little tiny balls of freezing rain started coming down. They bounced off the road, my nose, and my lips. I stuck my tongue out and caught one. It felt like little electrical shocks as they hit my face. Thankfully it stopped after about five minutes!

As my legs warmed up, I thought about how I shouldn't be worried about how far or how fast I was running. My plan after the half marathon was to CHILLAX. Having no goals or expectations was the whole point of chillaxing. But what I was not prepared for was the fact that for most of the past two weeks, I didn't even feel like running. What I wasn't prepared for was that I may not want to run.

However, yesterday was one of those magical days. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was the fact that I had rested for two days. Maybe it was the fact that I had an excellent podcast to listen to (Terry Gross interviewing Gloria Steinem). Whatever it was, things were clicking. I felt strong and fast. Running wasn't an effort, and I enjoyed every step. Five miles turned into six miles. I didn't look down at my average pace until I was on my last mile. I admit I purposefully sped up at that point! Judging by my ambitious pace, a cool down mile was in order.

Splits: 8:13, 8:06, 7:47, 7:41, 7:36, 7:22
Cool Down: 8:05

(I know my cool down mile is faster than my first two workout miles but that's what happens when my legs get moving- it is hard to slow them down too much!)

I stretched for 20 minutes after my workout. I knew my IT band would hurt for the rest of the day (it had ached for the past couple days for some odd reason... even though I have barely been running.) But despite the anticipated soreness, by spirits were high!

I had the yummiest post run meal... a spicy turkey dog!

I know I had a good run yesterday, but that didn't mean my next run would be good. I am just going to have to take running as it comes right now. Yesterday was my day. Today might not be, and that's okay.

Can you relate to any of this?