I went for a run today.

The last time I went running was May 26, two days before my first surgery.  That morning I ran 8 miles at a decent training pace (around 11 minutes/mile) and was thinking that I'd be back out in eight days, two weeks at the most.  Yeah, that didn't happen.

So here it is, a month later.  I was astonished at how many things I had forgotten in a month: the way my little toes go numb half a mile into any run, and then are fine a few blocks later, the way the running shoes feel on my feet, nodding at the regulars I see on my path most days.  Today I ran two miles.  And it was hard and I was slow.  But I ran.

I will no longer be doing the SF half-marathon.  It's July 25 and not only do I not have time to train for it safely anymore, but I will likely be radioactive that weekend.  I don't think I can ask everyone else in the race to maintain a ten foot distance from me at all times, nor will I have the energy to go that far, even if I could train.  That means my next race is at the end of October.  I figured out the training plan earlier this week and was thinking I have plenty of time.  After this morning, I'm a little less confident.

They say (whoever they are) that there is a two week grace period before your body starts losing conditioning if you stop running.  And that it takes doing something regularly for three weeks to make it a habit. 

So now I have to fight a little, to get my conditioning back, to get back into the habit of running, to get past the place where two miles hurts and back to the spot where it's easy. 

But I guess I am still a runner.  And so, I start again.

2:18:45!

I have a knot in my right hamstring that I cannot get out, my knees are starting to get a little achy, and I'm about to call today's matinee.  Thank God it's possible to stand and call in this booth - I have a feeling I'll be doing some interesting stretches during the show.  But it's another PR, and this year's finisher's medals are beyond cool.

Things I know about today:

-4:15am is too early to ever wake up
-Driving north on 101 I saw this lovely glow and thought the sun was coming up, then I realized it was just San Francisco.
-The 280North to 6th street exit is one of the few overpasses that still terrifies me.
-Event parking with bathrooms is the best idea.  No waiting for porta-poties.
-The wave starts were not as well organized as they could have been.  I ended up starting ten minutes later than I was supposed to.
-I went out faster than I had planned, though the pace felt good.  Then there were hills.
-Running across the golden gate bridge is awesome.    It's also fun when the drivers on the bridge start honking their horns.
-At mile ten I checked my watch and did some math with my pace and realized I should still be able to beat 2:20 (last 1/2 was 2:23:11) which became my new goal.
-Did I mention the hills?  I mean yes, San Francisco so duh, but there were a lot of up and down hills in the last three miles.  It got to the point that every time I started running downhill I got sad, because I was fairly certain that meant I was going to have to run back uphill shortly.
-i finished in 2:19:53.
-I have to be to work at noon, after getting off work at 10pm last night.  Fitting a half marathon into the middle of a five show weekend is more than the average amount of crazy.
-I have a two hour break between shows today.  My brain is already at war over what will be more important at that time: food or sleep.  I think food will win, but we'll see in four hours.

I ran my third half-marathon today.  That's 13.1 miles.

At a later time (probably tomorrow) there will be a post filled with race day details like what I wore, what and when I ate, etc; mostly so I can track it for myself going forward.  But here's what has me all squeeful.

Last year I finished this race in 2:42:15.

This year I finished in 2:23:10!!!!!  (And there really need to be capslocks for numbers.)  That's right - 18 minutes faster!  I attribute this to my training being better, my day before being better planned, and having lost 10+ pounds but still, I was aiming to beat 2:30.

2:23:10.  Today, I kind of rock.

So I ran my second ever half-marathon today. (Yes that is 13.1 miles). I finished in 2:41:35. It's a new PR, I finished 11:40 faster than I did last time. I averaged out at almost exactly 12:30 a mile which was my goal time! Squee!!!!!!!

Of course now my left knee hurts, as does my right hip. So once I'm sitting down for more than a half-hour when I move again I look like an 80 year old woman hobbling around. But that comes with the territory.

( training things no one but me probably cares about )

Mile 11 was once again entirely an act of will to stay on pace. And that .1 mile at the end is the most hateful thing ever! Seriously, I'm watching my time and pacing myself by miles and then you pass the 13 mile marker and have to keep going. I am fairly certain that the 13 mile marker is the most hated inanimate object in my world right now.

I should be doing a general update too somepoint soon. But right now I ran 13.1 miles for the second time in my life ever. Woot!

ETA: the subject line is from my favorite t-shirt seen today

2:51:05. Which was fabulous time for me. I've got my share of race injuries*, but mostly it was fun. Well, except mile 11 which was pretty much hell. I will try to do a more detailed post in a day or two, but this I had to get out there right away. Yay for me! Now I have to figure out what's next.


*I strained my right hip flexor (though it didn't start to hurt until mile 10 so go me), I have a 2" fricturn burn under my left arm, and I managed to cut my middle left toe on the nail of the smaller toe to it's left. I noticed it hurting from about miles 1-3 then not at all - gotta love the numbing powers of going forward.

I am training to run a half-marathon at the end of October. I haven't been talking about it much yet, because I've given myself until the end of this month to freak out and back out of the idea. At the end of the month I'm going to pay the entry fee - at which point I will be too cheap to not follow through.

As an extra motivation tool I'm going to keep track of my training here. Expect a once a week update, likely on Sunday, about how I did the previous week.

So last week I ran on three days, and did a yoga class once, which was the goal. I'm still really slow, but I'm not sure if I should try speedwork at all when what I need to be doing is increasing my distance. Last Monday I finally felt like a runner again - once I had limbered up I felt good the whole distance, and felt like I could have kept going after I did the 4 miles. Here I go.