Well, it's been ages since I've been on here and almost as long since I had to stop marathon training, for the time being anyway. Here's what happened.
I was coasting along nicely, amazing myself with my endurance and strength on every long run and was really just loving the runner's life when I found myself doing some babysitting for a colleague. Two adorable kids, both of which are like walking petri dishes and where I generally don't get sick I found myself with 2 intense colds, back to back, that threw me off of my training pace for about 6 weeks. I could do short runs, which I think actually helped because it kept my lungs open and created the same sense of internal heat as a fever, but long runs were out of the question.
When I finally told my friend I had to stop babysitting because of the issue at hand, I realized how behind I was and figured I'd be pushing it too hard if I tried to resume training for that particular marathon (the LA marathon in March). However, I learned a valuable lesson in two things; first, treadmill miles are NOT equitable to road miles, and second, always listen to your own conservative instincts about your own body. I let that same colleague, who had run about 13 marathons and completed several triathalons as well, convince me that I could jump right back in with a long run of 10+ miles with no problem. My intuition told me that wasn't healthy but I'd spent so much time and energy working towards this goal, I let my ego get the better of me and I listened to him. I also hit the road for my first run outside and found that after a few miles, having been only on the treadmill prior to that and recovering from 6 weeks off, I ended up with a hip injury that made it painful even to walk for a couple of weeks. Yoga helped tremendously and became my salvation, as it often has throughout my life. I practice Kundalini and Hatha yoga so when I realized I couldn't do any sort of cardio after that day, I became the yogi-gal.
I also let go of the marathon focus altogether because I knew I had to heal for a while and I realized that training had become all about guilt and "have to" rather than being an act of joy and discovery. My entire intention in beginning the training was to find joy in every moment, even when it was difficult. Somewhere along the line I lost that intention and then let my ego lead me to injury. Point taken!
So here I am, months later, fully healed to where I can easily run again and I'm finding that once again it is an act of pure joy. Thanks to my yoga practice, which continues to be my physical/spiritual focal point, my first run after many weeks off felt effortless, fluid and actually gave me energy as I easily coasted for 30 minutes. I stopped even though I felt I could go on and on, just to be cautious. But since returning to running, doing it from a place of joy and respect for my body above all else, it's taken me to a whole new level with the sport.
I also have to add that the combo of yoga and running is absolutely perfect. I've even found that a short run is a great warm up for yoga and then I can go deeper into the practice much earlier than usual because I'm already warm and loose. It's pure heaven!
Will I run a marathon? Probably. It's not a solid plan right now but knowing me I'll find myself on that path again. For now, I'm just enjoying where I am in this moment. Adding T'ai Chi and Chi Gong into my life is the latest wonderful revelation. Who knew you could sweat like this while looking like you're doing nothing?!
A year ago, I created a vision board describing myself as a yogi, runner and T'ai Chi player and here I am. So grateful and radiating with joy.
Namaste
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