Let me just tell you, I do not consider myself a runner. The furthest I’ve ever run is 5 miles, my normal max is 3, and I average around a 10 minute mile…on a good day. For those of you who also don’t run, that’s really more of a jog J I’ve never run an organized race of any kind, and prefer not to turn it into a competition. My jogs are truly a communing with nature, just an enjoyment of being physical, and I’ve never wanted to turn that into anything else! So, to be honest, while I was looking forward to trying something new with the trail run, I was also slightly apprehensive.
First, I hate feeling “unfit” again. I spent the first 2/3rds of my life “skinny-fat”, and the last third being pretty heavy, so these last couple of years have been an entirely new and wonderful experience for me, being physically fit! So when I try something new, I’m always afraid of feeling weak again. It’s a feeling I don’t readily want to return to, for any reason! Second, this run was partly uphill. Let me tell you, it is very much an ingrained habit of mine to take the path of least resistance, and an UPHILL run is as MUCH resistance as you can POSSIBLY put in a path (and then there was the added challenge of LOOSE ROCK and BOULDERS to leap among; a lunar field, I believe my friend so aptly described it as!). So I was really questioning my ability to do the run AT ALL, let alone KEEP UP! But novelty absolutely won out, and one of the things becoming fit has taught me is never be afraid; to go without fear in all things in life! As I like to tell my son when he doesn’t want to try a new food, “You’d never know how much you love lemon meringue pie, if you’d refused to try it once!” So, in the hopes that this would be closer to lemon meringue pie than, say, liver, I gamely went along!
It was just over an hour, and 4.3 miles of oh-my-gosh-I-am-not-used-to-this! Of all the bizarre things that hurt on me after that run, it’s the outside of my lower calves! There are some pretty great opportunities to break or twist your ankle on that run, and me being the consummate klutz, such was absolutely NOT out of the realm of possibility for me! I did roll my ankles lightly a few times but managed not to biff it completely (much to my running partner’s relief, I think!), and the added taxes on my calves showed up in the form of some pretty good soreness that has lasted well into today, 48 hours later! Walking in heels today actually DOES kinda hurt, for all of you who are always asking me that question J
The other thing I learned was that holy crap, there are different ways to develop your quads, and I am *seriously* lacking in what I’ll call the “launching points”; the part of your quad just above the kneecap that literally puts the spring in your step. I had erroneously believed, up until Saturday, that springing was mainly calf-work. Oh my, no, your quads are very involved, and mine have some work to do to get up to speed! I considered stationary biking while standing for fast intervals; my friend suggested treadmill sprints at the highest incline, run on my toes. I considered pushing my friend off of the overlook we were standing on! J
So today my advice to all of you is, go out and try something new this week. I have to say, once I got halfway through the run and realized it wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared it would be, I was totally exhilarated and completely stoked to finish the run, and to try it again one day soon! I can completely see making such a run a regular part of my exercise repertoire, and it is so good to do something with my body that challenges it in new ways. Challenge creates growth, and growth is something we all need to experience in our lives for maximum health and enjoyment! It was also good to try working out with a friend; I tend to be a loner in my workouts, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed getting to share my workout with someone else! So if you’re normally a groupie, go it alone! And if you’re normally a loner, grab a running buddy and hit the trails! Literally!
Wishing all of you a fantastically challenging and enlightening week, as you continue your personal Wellness Journeys! Remember, when it comes time for your workout today, and you’re mentally enumerating all the reasons to avoid it, Don’t Think; Just GO!