Trust and the coach

For the past week, I have been harboring a little secret. Today I shared it with Becky. After I told her, she shrugged her shoulders, which I took to mean it was ok. In Becky, I trust. Coach Extraordinaire. Super Woman. Wise Sage.

I knew my coach was a superhero, but it was confirmed today!
photo by Buckshot Images

I've been off the road for almost a week now, letting my foot rest so the devil in my plantar fascia can chill out. I've been pedalling away on my bike trainer, posting yoga poses for the Sweatpink #flexandflow challenge, and lifting all the weights with Becky. I can clean and I can squat. I've been wearing my deadlift shoes. I've been diligently stretching and rolling my foot.

By the way, Becky confirmed what I already suspected: yes, cycling does aggravate the plantar fascia. Certainly not as much as running, but yes, there is some aggravating going on. Damn it.

The one thing I'm not doing this week is running. And to tell you the truth, I'm not missing running right now. At all.

There it is. And it isn't even Runfessions...

It's no wonder I'm having night sweats...

I haven't told anyone this until today. I feel a little funny saying it here. After all, I'm a runner. I do all things running. I write about it. I talk about it. I love it.

But let's stop and think about it. To meet my mileage goal at the end of the year, I did run a lot more running than when I would normally be winding down. Becky told me today that I ran way more last year than she would have liked. She said she understood my need to meet the goal. But it was a lot of miles.

While I'm on this little break, I'm kind of enjoying pedalling in the comfort of my family room. I'm having fun picking out cycling videos on YouTube. So far I've ridden in Italy, France, and Australia. It's not all fun and games and pretty scenery, though. When I climb off the bike, I'm sweating profusely. And it wasn't because of that guy in the France video who was wearing white bike shorts. White shorts and endurance sports should never happen. Just sayin'. No, I know I'm working hard because I've been wearing my heart rate monitor, and I've been riding in my target HR zone--between 140-160 BPM.

And because my foot is still bothering me, I'll take one more week before I head back out to the road. No one even had to twist my arm. It's supposed to be brutally cold this weekend anyways. Icy. Snowy. Cold. Brrr.

What? The cold never bothered me before. Am I getting soft?

Nah. Just a little burned out. Wrecked. 

No worry, I'll be out there soon enough. I've got a spring marathon to train for! Oh, that. Today, I asked Becky about a training plan. Her response?

"This isn't like your last one. You're supposed to just enjoy this one!" 

Wait...no training plan? Yes, Becky's right, Big Sur is all about the experience, but it is still 26.2 freaking miles! With a few hills. 2000 feet of them. Says the flatlander. 

Becky is hoping that a lot of the weight training I'm doing will prepare me for the hills. After this strength cycle is complete, there's going to be more plyometrics and HIIT again. But mentally, I do need to do some hill training. Some speed work too. And some long runs. I'm going to piecework some kind of plan together. Experience will pay off here. I wouldn't recommend this approach if you haven't run a marathon before.

While I have 100% trust in my coach, I plan on working on that training plan this weekend. 

Today while I was at CrossFit, a woman from Becky's class introduced herself to me. She told me she reads my blog. She also told me she loves my pictures. Living in the area, she says can usually figure out where I take them, but she told me that they always look like some exotic locale. Well, how fun was hearing that? I always try to find beauty even in an area that isn't known for its ambiance. It's there. It all depends on your perspective.

Let's see if she can figure out where I took this one for SweatPink's #flexandflow challenge. Taking this picture was a mini-adventure. I was on my way home from yoga class and found the perfect spot for the pose of the day. As I was setting up to take this picture, I noticed a small dog running through the park. I watched him run, I realized it wasn't a small dog at all. It was a coyote! Luckily, he wasn't interested in me--they never are, I'm all gristle--and kept on going. Crisis averted. I set the timer on my phone and started to back up, getting myself in position to take the picture. I didn't realize I was standing on the edge of a hill, which was coated with an icy crust. My tree started to slide down the hill and I couldn't stop! I fell forward, put my hands down on the crusty surface, and clawed my way to the top of the slope. Just like a mountain climber, right? I looked around to make sure no one saw me, resumed the pose, and snapped the picture.

Completly unintentional.

Namaste.

Do you ever get burnt out on running or any other activity? What do you do to get your head back in the game? Any funny selfie stories?

Today I'm linking up this post with the DC Trifecta: Courtney, Cynthia, and Mar!