In a good way.
I'm pretty darn proud of myself because since training began on January 1st, I haven't missed one day. Every single day, I've managed to either work in a run, a strength training session or a yoga/pilates workout. There have been times that I've needed to switch things around due to a work schedule, but I have always found time, either early in the morning or in the evening to fit it in. These past two months have taught me so much about how to push my body, how to mentally get passed my negativity and how to really dedicate my time to making myself stronger and better.
Every day is a process. And not every day has left me feeling strong. But I've been making it work and getting through it.
Last week while I was in Denver, I probably struggled the most finishing my daily runs. I'm going to blame it on the altitude, but I also think my body was a bit fatigued. February tends to be the most grueling, non-stop month of the spring semester and I knew I was starting to feel it. However, each day I got up early, laced up those shoes and pushed through.
It was not easy. And even though I didn't necessarily finish with "post-run glow," I knew I had to get it done. And I did. And some days, that's all that matters.
I have loved being a part of a the LMJS running group. I have always been okay running by myself, as it is the perfect time to think, however, it has also been a lot of fun getting to know other runners and having support as we hit the weekend runs that are in the 10/11 mile range. It's nice to have someone to chat with. We've hit our peak training mileage. Which means, we're probably at our strongest and almost ready for that 13.1. I love that there are so many people with such different experiences running along side of me. There are new runners and some of the most experienced runners I've ever met.
One of the pacers is names Laurie. Laurie is almost 71 and strong as hell. She's run many marathons and is sometimes very hard to keep up with. Laurie fills our runs with stories of earlier running days. When women were very rarely seen on the road. She talks about how when she started running at age 30, people thought she was weird, there wasn't all the fancy running equipment or nutrition. Last week, she told us about how back in the 70's there were a lot of "running divorces." Because for the first time, women were finding their own strength and communities. They weren't relying so much on their husbands and running gave them their first chance at a sense independence.
I could listen to her for hours. And thankfully, because we're all pretty slow, I get the chance to.
