I Get To Run

I do. I get to run. Never before has it been such a big deal to me. As runners, I think we take it for granted that we can run. Even when we are injured, we know that eventually, we'll be back on the road. We might not be happy to be sidelined, but there's always the expectation that there will be many miles ahead for us.

Even though I've been feeling pretty good, I get little reminders all the time that I have a beast inside me, that I'm not really the boss of me. Often it's my knees. Going downstairs is more of a challenge these days. They aren't painful very often, but they are stiff. The first mile of a run is always a liar now while I start slowly to loosen up my joints. My feet hurt almost all the time. My big toes keep me in good alignment as I run because if I land wrong, they send me a very strong signal to straighten up and fly right.

Still, I get to run. I've always been grateful to be a runner but never as much as I am now. I had always hoped to be able to run into old age. While I still hope for that, realistically I know that my running days are probably finite.

I thought about this on my run this morning. I'm loosely training for the Rock 'N Roll Chicago Half Marathon, which is one month away. I needed a 10 mile run today. The forecast was for temperatures in the 90s, so I woke up extra early to beat the heat. I had to do some convincing to talk myself out of my comfy bed on a Sunday to hit the trails. I negotiated with myself multiple times to get moving. There was the getting out of bed negotiation. The getting off the couch after drinking coffee negotiation. The "maybe I should bike instead of run" negotiation. Finally, the "maybe I should just run the bike path" negotiation. That one was an easy no since there isn't water on the path and only one porta potty.

I drove to the same forest preserve where I ran last weekend. The 8 mile loop has no escape route. If I want to quit on my run, it's a long walk back to the car. Maybe that's what had me so anxious. Once I got there I was so happy that I pushed myself. It was warm already but the heat was not overwhelming. There's a lot of shade on the path, which kept me comfortable. Since this was a long run, I did my 4:1 run/walk intervals. As much as the runner in me wants to just run, I'm finding that I'm enjoying my runs a lot more now, looking forward to my "break". Is that wrong? I'm still running fairly fast, which makes me happy.

I felt really good on this run today. No knee stiffness and no foot pain for the win! My finish time made me really happy: 10 miles/1:35:30/9:33m/m. Splits were very consistent (run/walk intervals for the win!) but my fastest mile was my last mile, which I ran in 9:06! Full disclosure: I did make 2 potty stops, for which I stopped my Garmin.

All my runs this week were good. I ran an extra day this week--a 5k on Global Running Day. My total mileage for the week was 27 miles. Yep, I got to run!

I also went to 2 yoga classes at the studio and one strength session with Becky. I learned in yoga that there are certain poses I can no longer tolerate. On Monday, I went up into wheel pose (backbend) and when I came down, my wrists were not happy. I found this odd, since I do planks and chaturangas frequently without problems. Later that day, my left hand complete froze and I couldn't move my fingers. I sent a message to my rheumatologist--yes, it was another RA thing. Ok, fine. I can live without that pose. Who wants to do wheel anyways? I'm a warrior, you know.

On Thursday, Steph and I got our booties kicked by Becky. We did some KB squats alternating with the slide board. Then there was some lunges, jumping, and then we threw a weighted medicine ball back and forth, trying to catch it. I loved that! I was pretty sore the next day, but as I write this, I realize that my strong run today was probably a result of some of that work!

I get to run and that makes me happy.

Did you get to run this week? Any yoga poses you can't do? What's your favorite way to cross train?

I'm linking up with Holly, Tricia, and Kim for the Weekly Wrap! Kim blogs at Kooky Runner and I'm thrilled that she's guest hosting. Be sure to go to her blog and show her some love!