More running thoughts

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run."- John Bingham

I think I may have posted that quote when I posted a bunch of motivational running quotes when I first started my half marathon training.  I found myself coming back to that this past week.  After a couple of less than stellar runs and some sore legs I was not feeling like much of a runner.  I found myself feeling discouraged by being passed on the trail by every other runner I came across.  Even the ones who didn't look very physically fit were passing me with ease, then running off into the distance until I couldn't see them anymore.  And that is quite a feat when you live in one of the flattest places in the world....where it is said that you can watch your dog run away for three days.  I kept telling myself that by being out on the trail, that I was doing better than most people.  And I am always pleased to pass someone, even though 99% of the time, the people I pass are walking.  At least I know that I can run faster than most people walk....

I talked to my sister on Thursday and she has officially decided to drop her half marathon training.  In the last couple of months she has gotten into teaching fitness classes, both at her gym and for the city, and with teaching one or two classes each day she was finding it tough or impossible to have time to run as well.  So it looks like I will be running on my own June 25th.  I am sure it'll be okay but I hope that I am not left in the dust of all the fast runners doing the Mogathon.  It could be a lonely two and half or three hours for me.  I guess it's a short stretch in the scheme of life.....I would like to maybe recruit a few cheerleaders to come and cheer me on.  The Mogathon is June 25th.  It starts at 8:30am at River Landing and if you are not an early bird, I expect to finish sometime between 10:30 and 11:30am.....hint hint!  :)

I think after hearing that I would be going this alone I gave myself a bit of an ultimatum.  After the knee problems I had been feeling the last couple of weeks on my long runs, I decided that if I could not do the 14K this weekend with minimal discomfort that I should probably stop my distance training and maybe stick to 5 or 10k races.  Not that I really wanted to give up, I just would rather humbly step back than to push on and hurt myself unnecessarily.  I took some Gatorade along with me this week, and I really do think that the steady intake of sugar throughout the 14K run helped my muscles to not fatigue so badly.  I did end up with blisters on both of my big toes and a bit of pain in my right knee, but different from what I had been feeling in my left knee the last couple of weeks.  This, I think, feels more like overworked muscles/tendons than joint pain.  I am assuming that as you train and run further, that some pain is inevitable.  But I don't think I have injured myself, just some sore muscles that need to recover and rebuild themselves before I put them through the ringer again next week.  So I think I will keep going for another week and see how things go.  I would love to be able to do this!  Onward and upward!