New Challenges

Distance: 1 mile
Time: 8:21

Tonight was my first run since the mud run on August 21st. It was the first physical thing I've done since I went to the gym on August 23rd. The reason? School is back in session. I went back to work on August 24th for meetings and to prepare for the first day of school. My first day of actual teaching was August 30th. Needless to say, it was a busy couple of weeks! My biggest fear over the summer was that I wouldn't be able to keep up with my training once work started back up. From May to August I ran on a regular basis and improved quite a bit. By August's end I was running a lot stronger, but I was still far from where I wanted to be. Running the mud run on August 21st was a major accomplishment, as my biggest goal is to eventually run a marathon, and any organized race I get involved with is one step closer to that goal. I was afraid that once work started back up I would be consumed with teaching and would have no more time to train and soon I'd be back at square one. I can't say that that fear is completely gone, but with tonight's run it has at least been lessened.

The first week of work was hectic. I'm teaching four different classes this year, including a night class, plus I still have the responsibility of coaching cross-country. It was an overwhelming week, and I never even had a moment to consider going for a run or going to the gym. At times I was afraid that all my training over the summer had gone out the window. But then the Labor Day weekend came, and I had a chance to rest and relax and catch up with my work. I decided today, Labor Day, to go for a run and get my training going again. I waited until the sun had set and the air cooled, then I laced up and headed out on a 1 mile run. I was expecting a disastrous run, a horrible time, and my body in a completely weak state. It had been 2 weeks since I had exercised at all! That's a big chunk of time, and usually it's enough time to regress quite a bit. But for some reason I felt absolutely great on tonight's run! I ran my old mile route down my street and back, and for the first 3/4 of a mile I felt like I was running on air! My muscles felt great, my breathing felt great, my stride felt great. I wasn't hurting at all! I was amazed. I had originally planned on keeping a slow pace since I anticipated disaster. But as soon as I realized that my body was in a zone, I picked up the pace. The last 1/4 mile I finally began to feel tired, but I pushed on all the same. I thought for a moment I might set a 2010 mile PR, but I ended up with an 8:21. Once I thought about it, though, I realized an 8:21 was rather good, all things considered. It was the fastest I had ever run on that particular route, and it was the 4th fastest mile I'd run since May. The 2 weeks of rest had obviously rid my body of every lingering ache and pain. My body felt painless! I can only hope this lasts. It may be awhile before I can get 5 runs a week in like I was doing in May and June. Work is always the busiest at the beginning of the year, and so I'm hoping to get in at least 2 or 3 runs a week for now, and hopefully the occasional trip to the gym. Tonight's run was a good sign -- it proved to me that I hadn't overworked my body over the summer. The work I did over the summer was just to get myself out of the completely sedentary lifestyle I had sunk into. It's now time to really get somewhere.

The next goal on the calendar is a 5K in Wrightwood. The race is on October 23rd, and as it looks now, all is set for this run to happen! This is exactly what I was hoping for: concrete goals to work towards, a date on the calendar, an organized race that I signed up for and can't get out of. Summer training is over. It's running season now!