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The schedule says I finish this first of 16 weeks of training with 3 “slow easy” kilometers. So why doesn’t it feel easy? Slow, yes. Easy, no!
After a week of running consistently, the 3K didn’t feel that easy at all. In fact, I struggled almost the whole time wanting to slow down to a walk instead of pushing through. Even working on maintaining good running posture was tough. But what was easy was fitting it into the schedule, despite the seriously jammed packed agenda for the day. It amazes me, truly, how mind and willpower can be turned on, enabling oneself to commit to the task at hand.
Tomorrow starts week 2..another 7K in 10 and 1 intervals. I’m curious to see how it’ll be different from last Sunday. I guess we’ll find out soon. Head-up, chin-up, and keep the eyes on the prize….15 more weeks until I’m ready for my first half marathon. Woot woot! 😉
Clairee Belcher: Looks like two pigs fightin’ under a blanket.
Who’s Clairee Belcher you ask? Why, she’s Olympia Dukakis of course…the witty southern belle in the movie Steel Magnolias. Remember? She saw the mayor’s new wife, a slightly full-figured woman, shaking her booty on the dance floor.
Well that’s how I felt jogging tonight. Ladies, without proper under garments, thou shan’t try to run anywhere, let alone along a public highway! The cellulite was if full motion with me and all I could think of was Clairee’s two pigs fighting’ under a blanket wisecrack.
But wait…God bless the mayor’s wife for truly allowing her spirit to move her (and her booty), to express her true self in that moment, even in the face of criticism and jeering. That beautiful woman’s rump was rolling with the wave of music in a real and authentic way. How can anyone really scorn that?
So as I work on trying to jog a quick 3K with slightly less than ideal support garments, I give myself a mental pat on the back (or swat on the cellulite) and tell myself that I’m out there doing my thing, despite the fact that it ain’t pretty. And I’m okay with that. 😉
3K done. Tomorrow is a rest day. We’ll pick back up on Saturday y’all! Cheers.
“Mom, can we train with you today?” Joëlle queries.
“You mean on your bike?” I ask.
“Sure! We’ll keep you company. Right Ju?”
And so it was. After a quick refresher on bike safety while travelling on main roads, we set out.
“I don’t jog very fast, you know girls.”
“It’s okay…just do your best.”
I smile…always my cheerleaders.
As we round the second corner and merge onto the main road, the girls cycling on the right of the road, me on the left, I am not so much in running mode but rather on full mommy alert with my two precious treasures biking along side me. I haven’t the awareness to think about sore muscles or to develop a steady breathing rhythm. I haven’t the inclination to try to gage the distance to the turnaround point in the path. Instead, I coach and survey and assess my daughters’ safety throughout the journey.
“There’s a car coming behind you. Keep your eyes forward. You’ll steer where your eyes lead you.”
How true is that? Another analogy to life’s adventures. When I’m looking forward and moving confidently, I have a significantly greater capacity to greet adventures with strength and assertiveness. Should I happen to be glancing backward while a car is passing, I’m likely to swerve into traffic, wreaking havoc for everyone concerned.
I’m definitely not looking for any more crashes. I will keep my time and attention in the present moment with eyes open and looking with clarity and all that life has to offer. What a gift!
“We’re almost there Mom. When do you start your sprint to the finish?” Julianne asks.
“At the flag pole.”
“10-9-8…4-3-2-1…GO!”
I open it up all the way and empty the gas tank (to use my husband’s expression). As I cross the proverbial finish line (the stop sign at the end of the street), Julianne sings, “That girl she can ride….”
“Good job, Mom! You did it!”
Although I didn’t concentrate on time, distance or technique, I was thankful for their encouragement. Oh to be so lucky. 3K done. I’m okay with that. 😉
Let me start by saying that Monday is a rest day in the training schedule, so if you were wondering if I’d bailed already, rest assured that I’m still very much on track!
So it’s Tuesday and I set the alarm clock for 5 a.m. Waking up wasn’t the problem…looking outside at the still, grey sky and mist in the air, I easily convinced myself to slip back under the covers for another precious 60 minutes. Clearly, I would have to fit in the run later in the day.
Fast forward 12 hours and I’m at the soccer field watching my girls play back-to-back games in the cold wind. My back is starting to ache from sitting in the cold. How am I going to do this run tonight, I wonder..
Fast forward 2.5 hours, soccer gear stored for a couple more days, and I’m strapping on my shoes and wrinkled running clothes and venture out. Bbbrrrr…it’s June, right?! The wind is so cold and whipping!
One foot in front of the other, glancing occasionally into the distance, trying to spot my turnaround point on the route, I try to concentrate on the sound of the music scratching through my ear buds as I listen to the latest Top 10 music radio station. Funny, the wind is so strong, I can scarcely hear the music. It feels like I’m barely moving forward. Let’s face it, I can probably walk as fast as I was jogging! It ain’t pretty…
I glance up into the sky at the ominous looking clouds, steel grey in colour, and threatening to rain. I notice a small group of vultures circling above my head…no wait! Pause the movie. They aren’t vultures but rather they are ravens! Whew…safe from having my bones picked clean by birds of prey. 😉 And then my mind immediately jumps to a beautiful story of a raven and a swan that I recently had the privilege of reading. The raven in the story is a helper, pensive in nature, and adventurous enough to follow the spirit of the moment to new and exciting endeavours. And I had 3 circling with me on my journey! What a gift!
Renewed in my pursuit of “Because I can…” I carry on in the head-on wind with the static-filled music in my head. Before I know it, the mid-point has been reached and I’m turning around…woohooo! The wind, with its power and chill, is now at my back and I’m jogging a wee bit faster on the way home. What an analogy to life: sometimes my decisions take me into a head wind, where I can only keep my eyes on my shoes hitting the ground one foot in front of the other, only to arrive at a point in the experience where the wind is at my back, giving me relief and a small push home to a place of comfort and retreat.
As I round the last corner, 300 meters from my finish line, Dru’s “She Can Ride” blasts through the ear buds. Feeling the intensity of the music, I sprint to my finish…”This girl she can ride…”
35 minutes, 4K done. Didn’t stop until it was over. It wasn’t pretty. And I’m okay with that.
So my husband came home from midnight shift, strapped on his Nike shoes and his iPod and took off for a 10K before he jetted down to sleep for the day. And I thought to myself, “Why not?” Today is the day I’m going to do something for me…something that I can finally strike off my “Because I Can List”. Today is the day I start to train for my first half marathon.
I open up training schedule only to realize that I get to start with a 7K (intervals) on day one. That means run 10 minutes, walk for one…and repeat…for 7K!!! What the hell??!!! Can I really? My logic says, “No way!!” My instinct said, “Why not!!”
So I ran for 10, walked for 1….ran for 10, walked for 1…ran for 6, walked for 1, ran for 3, walked for 1, ran for 2, walked for 2….ran for 1, walked for 1…7K done. Well it was a little more than that. I started to feel the cold chills come on when it was 28 degrees outside. My muscles screamed at me, “Why are you torturing me???” My mind stayed focused on crossing the finish line. 7K done. Amen.
One thing that I’m changing about myself is that it doesn’t have to be done “textbook style”. It just needs to get done…even if it ain’t pretty. And trust me, it wasn’t pretty. And I’m okay with that.
Tuesday is 4K. And it ain’t going to be pretty then either. And I’m okay with that.
Stay tuned!
Because I can 