Clackamas River Trail

Clackamas River Trail

Today I saw the light. In exercise you have hills and you have plateaus. I am on the edge, and I can feel it in my speed, the lightness of my feet, and the effortlessness of my stride. At first my injury really upset me. It made me angry at my body. This is something everybody faces. No one is exempt, and its as if in order to achieve a higher level in the sport you first have to pay for it. Running, tests your commitment by throwing these little curve balls.

Today I traveled to Oregon City and ran  4 miles along the Clackamas River Trail.  This is by far one of my favorite places to run. It is just this incredible path that stretches along the river for miles on end. It was one of those days where it was cold, but with no rain. In Portland  you learn to appreciate the sunshine, and today was bright. I can't even describe how beautiful it was. It was like the sunlight caught every particle in the air and these particles just glittered.

For me Oregon City has a lot of bad memories. In the past when I would drive by Oregon City I would cringe inside, and try and pass by it quickly. I could almost see the girl I was standing along the side of the road, who hated her body, relied on others for validations and struggled to be happy. Running here is very therapeutic because running allows me to reclaim this space and my power in this space. That sounds corny, but bare with me. Running empowers you; it makes you feel strong, and competent. In a place/city where I felt lost, I am now powerful. This is my favorite thing about running. It allows you to redefine yourself as an individual capable of enduring great adversity. When I run, I am the person I want to be..

On a lighter note, I can really feel myself getting ready to make a lot of progress, and I am excited for this to happen. 

Slacking........in the posting

My running posts have hit a lull. And I feel so guilty about it because truthfully my writing fortifies my running and vice versa.  There are so many things that I need to do to get this blog up to date, like count my miles, update my race schedule, my blogs mileage and update my workout log.

Right now my focus has been to get my mileage back up while not hurting/rehurting my knee. To be honest there is still a little pain involved in this process. What is really strange is that my joints now pop. Never, ever before in my life have my joints popped like this. You can hear the sick cracking sound they make and oh how I wince. Its not painful, it actually feels good, but it just is strange.

In other news I have found a trail that wraps around a golf course and is on super soft earth. Its kind of a strange trail, but it gives me a workout. It really makes me sweat, because their is a lot of give in the ground, and there is not a whole lot of even ground, so I am either running up hill or down hill. Its a two mile trail, but it really feels a lot longer than that.

I took yesterday off, and it is strange how just one day of exercise feels like an eternity.  More to come tonight.

Total mileage to date 144

There is light!

Went 4 miles on the eliptical today and it was wonderful. Not that elipticals are wonderful. In fact they suck. They really, really really, really suck! I mean its like running in slow motion. BUT here is the good part I did it and it didn't feel painful. I mean it felt a little tight towards the end, and I am icing it right now, but it truly felt ok. This is a small victory. Hopefully tommorow I will feel even better. 

Constitutes our abundance

Our bodies are incredible. I think sometimes I forget that. This last week I have felt really ungrateful, and frustrated….. And you know what?  I am only hurting myself more by not appreciating this wonderful body that I have been given. Only a year and half ago I couldn’t run a full mile. 4years ago I was a good 35lbs heavier.  Isn’t the transformation we are capable of just jaw dropping wonderful?

Yesterday, I read an article about Dean Karnazes, perhaps the fittest man alive.  He is famous for running 50 marathons, in 50 days, in 50 states. What??????? Seriously, how incredible is that? Like I said, the human body is amazing. It is humbling to see what limits we can push ourselves to. I think that is why I am falling in love with the running community, because it is filled with people who are always asking “How far can I go?” This is a quality that constitutes real character

In this article in Runners World, Dean Karnazes says “We runners don’t need a lot. It is not what we have but what we enjoy that constitutes our abundance”.  How beautiful is that? The last couple days I have taken it really easy, which has been really hard, but today when I hit the track, hopefully it will feel better. If it doesn’t I am going to be humble, and kind, and try again tomorrow. 

You have to crawl before you can walk

You have to crawl before you can walk. OR.....as one of my old swimming coaches used to say, "you have to go slow before you can go fast". This is what I keep telling myself in regards to my body. Right now my biggest problem is myself. I am battling my own pride, and machismo. I started this journey and damn't I want to finish it.  am battling myself. Tonight I went for my run, and yeah my leg is feeling a hell of a lot better, but  a mile into it I could feel the soreness begin to itch at the back of my knee cap.  Walking away from a run makes me feel like a failure. Waiting for my knee to heal is like waiting for water to boil. This one step back is turning into 2 steps back.

Cross training

Yoga

Being injured has forced me to cross train more than I normally would. The other day I went to my Yoga class. After working and motivating myself, it is really nice to go a class and have someone else push you. My instructor is this short Indian man, who is incredibly centered and who carries himself similar to how a dancer would. At the end of his class I am always reduced to a sweaty exhausted mess. I like that a lot.

Yoga is good for meditation, because it helps me visualize and put my intentions for the future out there. The last pose of every class is savasana (the dead man's pose) where you lay on your back and seal your practice. I always imagine myself as a snake shedding its skin, and beginning anew. Lately I spend this time placing my intent on my running. I imagine my body being lean and long. I imagine my legs reaching out in front of me and my heartbeat being soft and content. I imagine my lungs as incredible vessels filling and distributing my body with energy.

Maybe all of this is pointless, but I really believe that placing my intent on my body is a very good way of preparing myself for training.