Trail Runner Diaries #2

Dear Diary,

This week has been AWESOME! I KILLED my workouts, and by killed, I mean obliterated.  I felt great all week and put in some solid miles.

then BAM! today sucked. It was the last running day of the week so naturally, it was supposed to be long. I planned on running about 13.5-14 miles.  Then when i got out to the track and met up with my teammates, I just had the feeling I wasn't on top of my game.

I was tired, it was already super hot at 9 am, and I had a rough night last night. Not the best recipe for a long run...

So we start out, super easy pace, Poly Canyon loop first. (I was going to add on after since its only a 9 mi loop).

I thought to myself that its just the beginning of the run; I just need to shake it off; I just need to get over the "warmup" hills.  (Note: these hills SUCK. The ground is super uneven from the rain season, which made the trail into a mud pit. With the cows constantly walking around in it, their hoof prints eventually dried into a broken-ankle causing, treacherous, work every muscle in your lower leg, kind of a trail.)

Then we got to the highest point, three miles in and fully sucking. We start downhill and before you know it, both my feet "fall asleep"! (Something I have no idea why it happens, but it just does!)

To save you from the dreary boredom of going through my whole run, I'll abbreviate it: I only did Poly Canyon loop and ended the day with just nine miles.

I am disappointed in myself that I hit the wall at every step and couldn't complete what I had set out to do. However, an important lesson here is listening to my body and being PATIENT! I need to realize that I am not super woman and cannot do everything, yet. I am still in the building phase; it is still the preseason. If my body is telling me that I need to stop, I need to realize that pushing farther will do more harm then good.

Now, this isn't just a free pass to skimp out all the time. If in the middle of a workout I all of a sudden "get tired" or its "so so hard," I need to push through the pain cave walls then! That is when the magic happens and fitness occurs. But on a regular training run at the end of a long week, yes, I can take a little break.

Well, that's all for now.
xox Kelsie

PS GO NINERS!