Now that's it has been 24 hours since I did my longest run ever and I didn't do any workout today because my legs were so darn sore, I thought I would put down some random thoughts I have had about running.
I can still hardly believe that I ran 11 miles. I first talked to The Coach about wanting to run the Go! St. Louis half-marathon Nov. 12th or 13th. I started training the following Monday, Nov. 16th. That is just a little over 4 months ago. When I stop and think about it, I am amazed at what I have accomplished in the time since that first walk/run on a cold, rainy, dark morning.
I tend to downplay my accomplishments but honestly, I've accomplished a lot. It has taken determination. And I could not have done this without the support of The Love, The Coach, and The Son. The Love has worked his schedule around my running; he never blinked an eye when I took off during the day to run. When I needed something, he made sure I got it. In addition, his belief in me that I could do this has brought me to tears more than once. The Coach has been fabulous. In addition to developing a comprehensive training program, she, too, has supported me with confidence. More than once, she has picked up my flagging spirits and re-energized me. She answered every question I asked, even when it was probably inconvenient for her. She has truly been the back bone of my training. The Son, while playing a smaller role, has nevertheless been instrumental in helping me on the LSRs every weekend. He has quite a talent for keeping my pace steady and encouraging me on the final miles. I honestly didn't think I would be able to run the last 2 miles yesterday without him. But as I became tired I tried to tell myself what I thought he would be telling me if he had been running along side.
So with all this support and love around me I was quite surprised last Saturday at my sewing event for the negative reaction I received from other women about my goal. I ate lunch with a group of women that I know only slightly, through my monthly ASG Neighborhood Group meetings. As we talked about health and middle age the subject of exercise came up and I mentioned that I was training to run a half-marathon. Much to my surprised the women responded with only negative comments. "You shouldn't run because it makes every thing droop." "My doctor told me never to run. The constant pounding wouldn't do anything good for my body." "You're going to get arthritis in your knees and then you'll be sorry." Whoa! I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
I certianly don't expect people to fawn over me when I talk about running and my goal. But, several other people who know I run (and now that I think about it, they are all men,) have responded to me with comments like, "Wow. That's awesome." "Wow. A half-marathon, huh. That's a really long way." "That's great. Good luck." Stuff like that. I am really blown away by how negative these women were. I don't know what was going on with them, but I hope I learned that when someone tells you about a goal in their life, give them some positive feedback. What they are doing is important to them and they deserve all the support and encouragement they can get. Who cares if their goal doesn't appeal to you. The fact that she is moving forward in a positive manner is awesome!
OK. That's the end of my rant. I just had to get it off my chest.
I rested today. I am surprised by how stiff and sore my legs are. Probably due in large part to the half-hearted stretching I did after the 11 miles I ran. (Isn't it so cool that I ran 11 miles?) Tomorrow is a 6-mile run. While I think it would be easy to talk about how it's only half of what I just ran so it will be easy, I don't think so. Six miles is still a distance for me to go. But I am totally up for it. Should I take my grocery list with me as I run to the grocery store and back?
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