Space Coast Race Packet Has Arrived

When I got in from work this afternoon, a package was waiting for me on the kitchen counter. I instantly knew what it was. My race packet from SCM. I had forgotten it was even coming. I checked the return address to be sure, then opened it up. I am happy to report that not one tear fell. I'm ok.

I'm fairly certain that the reason this is so, is because I talked with Bill B about his race there and got to live vicariously through him. I also have matured a great deal since I pitched that fit when I had to drop out of that marathon. I've grown up I guess.

In all seriousness, I have come to realize something about my running. I started running because I had been pretty sick for a while and needed to gain back some strength. I'd felt so out of control of my own body for so long that reaching the goal of finishing the Sarasota Marathon meant maybe I could take back that control. Making a goal and seeing it through was so very empowering! Running across the finish line that day set me on a very specific road. Until today, I thought that road was "just" about running, but it wasn't. I think the reason I was so upset about not being able to run Space Coast was because I felt like I was giving up, even though I was injured. Didn't really matter the reason, I was angry about not being able to see that goal through.

During the time I couldn't run, I felt sad, but not for the reasons I expected. I was missing the Endurance team meetings/runs. I never missed one, not even when I was sick. I asked Jim, my coach, if I could help coach Runners Club under his supervision and he agreed. He has given me direction and guidance all along but has let me do all the runs. This gave me the opportunity to meet some newer runners and slowly get back into healthy running again. I've met some new people who have similar goals and I'm having a GREAT time! I love the social part of running. The races, training runs and just talking about all of it makes me very happy. The people I run with from Runners Club are very positive and energized about training. When I see and hear the excitement I can actually FEEL it. These moments are just as important to me as running across a finish line.

Running that 5K Saturday, in the freezing cold and wind, was fun. I was happy as I tried to push through that wind. My knee was protesting now and again, but I thought of Sherry, Scott and Sondra who I would never have met if not for running. I thought of Ed and Joan, who are very important to me. I thought of my coach, who gave me the attitude of how to enjoy running. Bob and Carol, who are also special people....there are just too many to mention, but you all know who you are. I thought of my husband Bobby, who at first laughed when I told him I was going to run a marathon but now tells me how proud he is of my accomplishments.

All of these things take the pang of dropping out of SCM.

That being said....I hope I kick Sherry's ass in that triathlon in April!!! LOL (luv ya Sherry!!!)

I'm Baaaaaack!!!!!!

Yep, it's true!! I can tell you I am once again, a RUNNER! I have run 2 days in a row without that debilitating pain....yippeeeee!!!!

I have been spit on twice though. Chris spit INTO the wind Tues morning and it came back and got me on the arm. Yummy. I woulda thought it was raining, but I happened to be looking in the direction of which the spittle came from. It was clear and minute, so I let it go. Today I got spit on by a new runner friend. In the face! Yeah.....LOL...I guess you could say WE BONDED! What's a little saliva between running buddies, huh?????

So Tues morning Chris and I ran about 2.5 miles. He had a sore achilles, which sucks, and I was so worried about my knees that we did a nice easy run. Very enjoyable and light. No pain and I felt fine after. And he ALLOWED talk time. I know! How sweeet! He read my blog and decided he didn't want to be known as my "fuddy-duddy-running-buddy. LOL...He's a good guy!

Today I ran with Steven and Reg. Reg is from Canada. I guess people REALLY do live there! I thought it was way too cold for human habitat, especially in December, but Reg seems relatively normal...LOL. Kiddin'....Reg is a great guy. He's here in Florida because Canada is freakin freezin. He kicked my woe-begotten ass this morning, may I add.

We started out talking and running easy. Withing 2 minutes, I peeked at my Garmin to find us at an 8:20 pace. Geez! I thought I was going to kill my knees at that pace! I was wrong....we kept going....Reg talks in the METRICS. Sigh. He must not know we Americans revolted against that particular type of measurement. Yeah, we PRETEND to know metrics when we talk about distance AT TIMES. But that's only in reference to races. In our everyday talk, no metrics are used. So we spent a goodly amount of time going back and forth with figuring out distances and paces. Blah. I hate math.

I did need to do some walking, that pace was pretty fast for me as I haven't really been able to let loose for 2 months, thanks to the IT band. But guess what?? I loved it!! It felt like such an awesome workout! I could feel my heart racing, blood pumping, legs eager for the next turnover! Not the blueberry turnover, I mean the leg turnover....anyway....

I was very happy to find out I could really, truly run again. Oh JOY!!!! I'm not sure I would have pushed myself if Reg hadn't led me along. I was still in that euphoria 2 hours later!

Steven decided to wear his cleats for the run. Yes, you read that correctly. CLEATS! I said to him, that he was crazy! He said he hopped into his truck and headed over, forgetting he only had his cleats in the truck, not his sneakers. OMG. He ran in the grass beside us, I was worried the whole time. He's 21 yrs old though. You know how those crazy kids are....LOL. Love that kid.

I have a new goal. I wanna do a sprint triathlon. There's one on April 9, 2009. Chris is interested too. We will begin adding in the training for that very soon. Swimming and biking are great cross training for the marathon, so it should work out well. We're very excited!!!!!! My husband is thrilled I'm adding biking to my menagerie of exercising. This is something we can do together. I look forward to kicking his beautiful ass soon.

Now all I need to do is learn how to breathe while I swim. And keep my legs straight. Oh, and the bike part should be a blast on my Schwinn 21 speed. HA!!!!!