Back in the Saddle

So I just did my first workout in 2 weeks.  Who knew running 3 miles could be so difficult?  Oh, wait...just so you don't think I am lying, I did go to the track workout last Saturday and ran a mile, but I don't really think that counts cause it was really short and I was coughing and wheezing.

Today I felt ok...I mean I didn't start coughing until I was done running, and I could tell my body was still in good enough shape for running 3 miles, but I have to say, mentally it was really challenging.  I kept wanting to stop the whole time, I kept thinking, "I am just getting better, I should be able to walk some."  But the thing was, physically I could tell I didn't need to walk.  Mentally I totally wanted to walk.  So it was kind of a struggle. And of course, me being me, I mapped out a run where the last mile was uphill.  Don't ask my why I did this.  My philosophy on running is always that running uphill is always better at the beginning of a run than at the end.  But what can I say, sometimes I don't really think ahead.

So the last mile I was running up hill on a street that kept twisting, so I couldn't tell where it was going to end.  Each corner I would think, "maybe this is it," but it wouldn't be.  The one thing I had going for me was that I knew I was on my last mile, so I repeated my trusty mantra over and over again: "you can do anything for one mile, you can do anything for 10 minutes, it's 10 minutes, you will be done in 10 minutes, you can keep going."  I love that mantra, it works for longer distances too...like at Big K I started it at mile ten. "You can do anything for 3 miles, it's only 3 miles, you can do anything for 3 miles."

It may sound silly, but it got me to the top of the hill, and let me tell you, it felt great to finish and to know I had run the whole thing.  Although I do have to say my legs were all tingly which normally doesn't happen, and then I went and did a circuit workout with weights at the Fit-Lite on Solano, and I felt a little shaky the whole time.  I'm sure it's just cause I am starting out again.

Tomorrow is our first long team work out.  We are training from 8am until 1pm.  Swimming, then running, then core work out.  I am super excited!

Go Iron Team!