Saturday, October 16, 2010

Spent a little time on the mountain...

Jim got back last Saturday night from his 50-mile race none the worse for wear (he did it in 8 hours, 35 minutes). He was "a little stiff" the next morning, but by Tuesday, he was ready to go for a little run with me. We ended up doing more than either of us meant to, I think, just because it was a convenient place to run. We ran up Mount Jumbo, past the "L," to a great view of the Missoula valley. It was steep and challenging enough that we had to walk parts of it. Then, on the way down, we realized we only had five minutes to make it down (had to meet up with someone) and it was at least a mile. But, it was DOWN. So I thought I would run it as fast as I could, which was exhilarating. I knew though, as my legs started feeling jelly-like, that I would be sore afterwards.

Jim, on the other hand, never complained of any soreness at all. When asked, however, he did say that his quads ached a little. I was surprised that this time he didn't even seem as ravenous as he has in the past after 50-milers. Maybe that was because I anticipated it this time, and kept putting all this delicious homemade food in front of him before he even had time to think that he was hungry again.

Here is a man who was clearly born to run. I am inspired by him and wish that I could do what he does, but, well, we can't all be Jim. For now I've just got to be thankful that I'm no longer having dizzy spells just driving my car, and that I can run at all.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The road to recovery

After two and a half weeks of iron supplementation, I am really starting to feel better. The weird dizzy, weak spells have all but completely gone away. I've even woken up the last couple of days feeling well-rested. My diet is still not as good as it should be, but I'm working on it. It is really difficult to eat as much food as I am supposed to. And it is hard to remember to take my vitamin supplements, iron, calcium, and fish oil. Geesh.

I've been trying not to think about running in any kind of organized way, that is, not training for anything. But I have been running every other day for at least a week now, and feeling okay, but not great. One of the hardest things is training my mind. As an athlete, I've pushed myself, tried to ignore my body so that I could push harder and improve my fitness. The thing is, people always say to listen to your body, but they never tell you which part of your body to listen to. My brain is the most outspoken part of my body and it can really confuse me sometimes.

Last weekend Jim went to get some new shoes for his big race (Le Grizz 50-mile) this weekend. At the running store, we ran into an old friend of ours, Fran Zelenitz, who had just finished the Blue Mountain 30k - the race I was supposed to do. I don't know why, but for some reason the fact that the race was over made me feel like it's time for me to be done resting. Time to start training again. But for what?

The truth is I don't think I will be training for any organized race for a while, what with winter coming on and all. I've just got to focus on getting and staying healthy and strong, and set my sights on next year.