Changing Lanes

How'd I get from there to here?

A month ago, I was primed and ready to race a GBA** marathon at National.  I was training in my zones.  Had a sweet plan in hand with huge base miles built up.  I just KNEW everything was going to fall into place.

And then.  January happened.  And I sprained my ankle...  It definitely was a fankle sprain of the "bad" kind.  I took a week off with a plan to jump back into my plan where I left off.  Came back for a day.  AND took another week off.  Came back for a day... another week off... now, at this point, it's becoming obvious to the experienced coaches in my life that I'm not going be jumping back into anything, but Denial, it's not just a river, it's also a State you can map, colonize, be elected Gov'inator....

So.

As we have established, I asked Q if he could send me a plan that would get me to National in race condition.  He was very blunt, because that's just how he is, about my request.  He didn't say yes and he didn't say no.  He said, Here's what I can give you.

And then during a long string of conversations I realized what he was actually saying/asking is, "You won't be in race condition, but you will succeed at completing a marathon.  Is that what you want?  Is just running a marathon going to make you happy?"

Huh, would seem that Q knows me better than I would have guessed.

No.  Running a marathon isn't going to make me happy.

I have made a choice to readjust my goals.  My body is worthy of more respect than I have given it in the past.  There is no need to run in a less than ideal condition, have a long recovery, or even risk re injury of the fankle as I spend a bunch of time loading miles on it trying to get "half way trained"...

I can simply make new goals.

National is now a day for me to support my friends.  I will go to DC with them.  I will pace them out for the first 3 miles, and pick them up at the end for the last miles.  I will run them in, and it will be MY turn to say, "Remember that time...".

As for my Galactically BadA** goals?  Well, I am setting my sights on a GBA** Half Marathon in April.

Monday Meanderings

So remember how I said that I had a really busy Sunday on the books?  Well, because it's January, and I've pissed off the Gods who are in charge of PEACE in my life, it so didn't go to plan....   ONE more day of January, and then this Sh*t has got to stop.

... in pictures...  a short recap...

my day started with this:

a FREAKING AWESOME 4 mile run with The Illusive Dave.  Note the button down shirt that he clubbed in, slept in, and then ran in?  He actually pulled it off, and looked really cute.  

Then, Pants Guy dropped off this:

the most delicious banana bread I have ever eaten in my life.  ever.  Pants Guy's awesomeness level is now almost unreachable.

and then we worked on G's car for the pinewood derby:

(the blue & green car with the fish, he won 3rd place)

and while the paint was still drying, C and I went out got new matching bracelets that looked like this:

but no worries, after a 5 hour ER visit that included IV fluids, vomit, lots of tests and an extended period of time without food, it turned out not to be appendicitis.

I got home to an email from Q that made me smile, as it contained a revised "gba-national training plan" that starts like this:

and ends like this:

laughed when I saw that how far or when I run in month of April is clearly not his problem

 And then I finished my BIOLOGY study guide, of which there will be no photo.

How was YOUR Sunday?

bubbles and brakes

In an effort to stay ONE with the Hamstring, I have decided to employ a rigorous cross training approach to the National Marathon Training schedule.  Because I hate my bike with a passion that burns as brightly as 10,000 suns am not a huge fan of my bike I've been swimming a lot.  Usually I get out in the pool like the galactic bada** that you all are familiar with.... it's nice to be good at something, and I don't suck at swimming.

Yea.  About.  That.

Todays swim was epically bad.

Like.  Epic.

As in, all I could see through my goggles was bubbles (read that and understand that bubbles are bad, they're like the red light on the back of the car.  If you all you can see is a wall of bubbles, you're applying your brakes while using the gas pedal).  So I tried to tweak my form.  And completely fell apart.  Enter the part where I gasped in a mouthful of H2O.  That was attractive, I'm sure.  The woman who isn't the life guard, but does actually work at the gym pool walked over to ask if I was "ok".


well.  yes.  other than feeling 1 inch tall.  "I'm fine".

I couldn't hold my form.

I couldn't hold pace... because I couldn't hold form.

I switched to back stroke, thinking that would help.  Um.  Yea.  I ended up having to do rifle drills to get my arms in sync.  I felt like a little beginner swimmer out there today.

sigh.  It's OK.   Because tomorrow is a new day.