Whatcha' Havin' Tonight Darlin'?

Yet another potential roadblock. A head cold. My voice has dropped about 2 octaves and I sound like an old, smoky barmaid ready to ask my next customer "Whatcha' havin' tonight darlin?" Monday was the worst. Yesterday was tough by the end of the day. But I'm convinced I'm on my way out of this. Just another inconvenience. Word is, I'm still lining up!

Only 2 miles the last few Days!

Dare I say I'm injured? There was no running Wednesday or Thursday. And I headed out the door Saturday morning hoping I'd be able to get a 20 miler done. No such luck. Went 1.93 miles and could go no further. Walked my butt home in the cold but sunny morning hours.

Sad, so very sad. No better way to express it.

But I'm still lining up in Houston. Still going to go as far as my legs will carry me. I don't expect to finish the race. The goal now is to show up and just go whatever distance I'm able to go.

Maybe next year I'll do the full race. Who knows! I'm sure there will be many more opportunities....

meanwhile, I'm going to take another full 7 days off and see if this quad is better.

There Will be No run today!

That quad is bad. I tried but it just won't cooperate.

The Start with a Hobbling

Hmmm. I went out for those 5 miles yesterday. That left quad is barking quite loudly, to the point that I was hobbling the 1st 100 feet or so. It's pretty sore this morning. But I'm going to try a different pair of shoes and go out later for those 10 miles.

It may be the stupidest thing I've done all season, but I'm still having a tough time knowing what is injury and what is the normal aches and pains of this whole deal. No one can really tell me until I go through it I suppose.

Now for more stretching and ice!

Finding the Courage

Today, I am feeling better about this whole running program. I am better today than I've been in a couple of weeks. The time off last week? Definitely worth it.

The miles this week will be the toughest.

5 tuesday
10 wednesday
5 thursday

20 saturday.

Then I'll begin a 3 week taper before the race.

The plan really is for 5 tues
10 wed

and then I'll see how I'm feeling.

And determine whether to bring in those 5 miles thursday.

The point of all this is to build my body up. Breaking it down a wee bit is okay as long as I recover sufficiently. It's a tight rope walk at times.

And I remain optimistic that I'll get through this whole deal.

Whatever will be, will be.

And no matter what, I'm lining up.

Sometimes failure is just the thing we need to succeed. To succeed in a different way. To define ourselves. In a different way. From that old way. A way in which we know within our souls has been self-limiting.

In the past. I have seen it. I have done it.

My, oh my.

The future looks good.

No matter how far I run. I will do the best I can. I will see it through and hold my head up high.

Not because of how far I have come or how far I run. Not because of how fast I go. But because I bring the courage to line up in the first place and to simply, with God's grace, do the very best I can.

What a Mighty Fine Day

Suzanne met me at 6 a.m. here at the house for a 14 miler. We cranked out the miles, nice and slowly at a 10:06 pace. My left quad still hurts and my right knee is pretty stinkin' sore now. But I don't think either are any worse than before my run.

She and I haven't really run long together in months. I love her company. We talk. We're quiet together. It's nice. She's such a gentle soul, someone I'd like to be more like in that way.

Afterwards, an Eggnog latte at Starbucks and a good chance to talk more without the stress of running. Gave her a Christmas gift of scrapping supplies. Yes, she is joining the cult. And seems very excited to do so.

Picked up another gift for a friend and came home for a nice long hot bath. It's early yet, but what a mighty fine day this has already been.

Still Being CAUTIOUS

Saturday's run was tough. I'm still recovering. The right knee pain has now led to some left quad pain. Maybe a strain from compensating for the bum knee? Who knows.

Whatever the deal is, I've decided to not run again until I'm pain free. That wasn't' yesterday. And it wasn't today.

Tonight I went to the gym for some cross-training. A little time on the elliptical, some weights and lots of stretching. It's a descent substitute for running and I felt better during and after doing it.

If I'm cautious & sensible now, hopefully I'll make it to that starting line January 17th!!!