It's not all bad

Believe it or not, my everyday life is not in shambles. I’m just tired and stressed; it’ll all go away on April 15th, so bear with me folks. Why the 15th? Law schools and NA Sports collaborated to put all my spring stress on one fine date: law school decision and my first race o’ the season. But I can do it. Taper has given me the light at the end of the tunnel.

First, the run. Two weekends ago (when I got in that Friday 4 hour aquajog that sucked because I forgot to bring anything to eat except part of a bag of sports beans and a 20 oz gatorade I found hidden in my bag), I ran for the first time. My rationale: it was too late to run very far, but I needed to know that my body could run some of the marathon. I have some pride every now and then. So Saturday when I tried 1.6 miles.

I flew.

“Easy” was 9:00 miles, about 30-60 seconds faster than I’m used to. I was stoked. So on Sunday, I opted to run again after 7.5 hour ride. I ran 2.4 this time, and as expected I felt like dookie off the bike. My first .8 mile lap came in at 8:11, and I was pleased with my pace. The next two laps? Negative split. Once I got my legs under me and I wasn’t even touching the ground. I pulled a 7:00 second lap and a 6:53 third lap, again not feeling all that tired. Could using my glutes and hammies actually make me faster? Apparently. 22:04 is not a usual time for me for a 2.4 mile jaunt after 115ish mile ride. Still, my foot ached a bit so I decided to quit while I was ahead.

I went to PT two days later and my therapist asked me if I’d run yet. I almost said no since I hadn’t been given permission, but I fessed up. She nodded at my progress and told me I could run 3 miles every other day, but not after I biked anymore--a reasonable rule I can follow. After a week of running with no serious pain, she told me yesterday I could up it to 4 miles and that I only had one more PT session left. I’m going to graduate from physical therapy before Arizona!!

So what did I do with that permission to go longer? Decide to run 6 of course. I did my last longish run last night--6.2 on the ‘mill and 7 in the pool. Today I’m a little sore, but it’s mostly from the PT. If I can run half the marathon at the Y I can make it at least that far in AZ. I’ll be mighty sore come the 16th but I think I can do it. Oh confidence, how I’ve missed you.

My swim isn’t going down the toilet either. Last week I was too lazy to come up with a practice so I opted to do 2x1000 moderate as a yard-eating main set. I rolled in my first on at 14:38 (1:28/100yd), about a minute faster than I was expecting. After a minute of rest I was off to the races, determined to keep it under 15 again. As I swam I felt fatigue setting in; I worried that I’d missed a 50 on my previous 1000. The slower I felt, the faster I swam, fearing the time I’d see when I finished. My second 1000 was considerably higher effort--especially the last 300--but I was relieved to see I came in at 14:29 (1:27/100yd). Yea! It meant my first wasn’t a mistake and my swim ability is the same as last year. Since I’m not looking to improve my swim time I’m ready to roll!

Finally, I’m only $105 away from my fundraising goal. It’s exciting. Still, I have a ways to go so please, please help out if you can.

11 more days. Sometimes it seems so easy. Sometimes.