Before I tell you more, meet the newest member of our animal family, Shorty. We were in need of a new kid horse and my Dad found this guy for us. Thanks Dad! The kids both rode him Saturday and Sunday and did great riding by themselves. Soon they will be ready for some cow chasing action!
I think my bike has a bunch of gears, but they never have shifted very smooth for me so I usually just leave it in the same gear for the whole ride. I had to mess around a little but I found one that works pretty good. I have no plans to do a triathlon or biathlon so I am not worried about it. Works great for me!
Sunday I decided to do something a little crazy. I decided to try for 5 miles. Used to be such a short distance for me, but I hadn't run more than four miles since the beginning of May when this whole quad strain thing went down.
I made the run so that if I wanted/needed to quit at 4 miles I would be close to my house. I am not going to lie, I am a little afraid of restraining it right now. I ran the whole 5 miles. I did take a couple of short walking breaks, but still longest run of June! Talk about a happy girl.
I started July out the same way I ended June..5 more miles this morning and it felt even better than it did yesterday. I have to admit.. this makes me ecstatically happy!
Have I ever mentioned how much I love getting to run before the sun comes up. A perfect way to start a day.
If you squint, you can maybe see a little tiny pin point of light on the far far hills in the middle of the picture. Even if you can't, trust that I could at 5 this morning. Pretty sure it was my Dad out putting up bales of hay. The air smells so sweet right now with all the hay being cut and baled all around us. Love it.
Ahh yep there it is..5 miles! This one was from yesterday. I actually did more like 5.15 miles today.
super slow plod along pace lately an 8:20 mile was pretty good. I would normally hate how much the 5 miles kicked my butt, however, right in this moment I am just thrilled to be running. I am on my way back.
My plan for July is just to continue building my base.
No races.
No serious speed work.
More strength training.
Listen to my body.
So when do I plan to start racing again? I don't know yet. The only thing I have on my calendar is a Ragnar in Colorado in the beginning of September. I won't be doing my legs speedy, just enjoying the fun. There is a half marathon here at the end of October, that I am tempted to train for. It would be no PR attempt, but a sort of "Hello I am back!" kind of run.
What is motivating your workouts today?
YAY for running and progress!!! ANd I love Shorty. He is so cute. Horses are my favorite. :)
ReplyDeleteAw shoot, I guess you are out for the Montana Half in mid Sept?
ReplyDeleteWoohoo! I'm so glad you're making progress!
ReplyDeleteI can't remember the last time I rode a horse. Mike has never been on one and he said the thought of riding one freaks him out. Oh well.
The fact that I can run again is definitely motivating me!
YAY FOR RUNNING! I'm back at it, too- so I better get officially cleared on Wednesday, since I'm such a bad patient! Haha.
ReplyDeleteWe have a 5k on Thursday (purely fun), and then I don't have another race until the AF marathon... which I intend to treat as a fun long run. No pressure. I already know I'll be undertrained and will need to walk, but I"d rather do that than not run it at all!
Man, after a break, running again feels like MAGIC. Even in the downpour yesterday.
Glad you're healthy again!!!!!!
I'm sooooo happy you are able to run!! Your new horse Shorty is beautiful. I'd wake up early too to catch sunrises like the ones you see each day. Hmm maybe I'll make it a goal to do that once this summer :)
ReplyDeleteYay for cross training that's usually the best remedy! Be careful that's how most people switch to triathlons :-) Your progress sounds great! I have a friend doing that Relay and she loves it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty sunrise! I usually run in the evening..this week I woke up early and ran early in the morning..so peaceful I may have to do it again.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget to let me know your plans when you're here!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome that you're back into it! I'm sure it will be all positive from now as you've been so good during your recovery, but I know that feeling of not trusting your leg totally - cos I'm at that stage too!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome!!! Progress is very motivating!!! There is a date in September that is motivating me this week and the next few months!! I want to get to the line strong!!
ReplyDeleteHooray for 5 miles! So cool that you got a new horse:)
ReplyDeleteLove the smell of fresh cut grass. I miss that about being on the farm. Right now my dad is doing silage, but hay will be next. :-)
ReplyDeleteYay for progress! Love Shorty!
ReplyDeleteHey, Shorty! Hope to see lots more of you soon.
ReplyDeleteI love your comments about the bike! I think cycling vs biking is like running vs jogging. If you are serious, you are a runner / cyclist; if not, it doesn't really matter. So I had a similar problem with my gears and was riding my 15 speed bike in one gear only. I JUST took it to the repair shop and got everything tuned up for about 50 bucks. If you decide to ride more, it may be worth it, even if you are not going go do triathlons.
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