I had a stark realization the other day: my body is not what it used to be.
This may sound silly to you. But for some reason, “aging” and “body” were never an issue with me. I mean, aren’t the twenties the peak of a persons athletic performance?*If I felt like running for fourteen miles one day without running months before, my body would say, “Yeahhhhh here we go!” I ran my first marathon without training whatsoever for it, and my body was okay with it.
That was six years ago.
Now, when I want to go for a long run, my body screams, “Hellllllllll no!”
Okay, my body isn’t in that bad out of shape. But it is slightly out of running shape, as I found out the other day after my eleven mile run. Fine, even more honesty: it was less of a run and more like a jog. A very.Long.Jog.
The last time I ran longer than ten miles was last summer when training for a half iron man. Weather, work, life (and biking) became priorities over running. So runs became fast walks, and then strolls.
I know it takes time for muscles to get used to the motion of running, and, as it turns out, I think I might have started running a little too intensely (shin splints anyone?). Between the fatigued legs, and the painful shins, starting up running again has been the stark contrast of when I used to “pick running back up” a couple years ago, which is frustrating for a person who wants to be great right away.
I suppose we’ll just see how it goes. (I’m hoping the shin splints go away fast!….Any hints on how to get rid of shin splints?)
Last Week’s Training Round-up
Sunday: 4 mile run
Monday: 11.5 mile run-uh-jog
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: in AM: 60 minutes on trainer (too yucky to ride outside) WU: 10min MS: 4x (8min at threshold, 2min recovery) CD:10min
in PM: 3mile run (on a treadmill–gasp! In a gym filled with germs–double gasp!!**)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Same cycle workout as Wednesday, with a 4 mile run outside
Saturday: 40 min spin on the trainer***
Non- Training
To combat the gross winter weather outside, I decided the inside of my house should have a “spring” feeling, hence began decorating for Easter.
The ceramic birds are from a town close to where I used to live in Luxembourg, Nouspelt, where these little birds were (and are) made. There is a festival every Easter Monday about these birds.
I finally found a chocolate rabbit this morning small enough to complete my trio of decorated jars. The cashier saw it and exclaimed, “How cute! Perfect for a mid-day chocolate craving.” Naturally, you would think someone who is buying chocolate is going to consume it. My reply, “Not really, it’s for a decoration.” She looked at me puzzled, and smiled politely. I guess I am not the average person who buys chocolate. (That, and I am refraining from eating chocolate and sugar, which I will discuss later).
The above cupcakes are cinnamon spice (I modified Martha Stewart’s Cinnamon Cupcake recipe) with maple buttercream and a maple syrup drizzle. The buttercream has real maple syrup– why is it so hard to find maple buttercream recipes that have real maple syrup instead of maple extract in it? A hit with coworkers.
* I’ve come across this in many fitness articles. However, aren’t some of the best atheletes in the world–Iron Man Champions and Ultra marathoners older than their twenties? Chrissy Wellington for example. In local duathlons, the largest age groups are those 30+ which gives me hope for the future.
**I loathe the gym. Especially in the winter, when sick people continue to work out and spread their germs on everything. Yes, you would think since I am a nurse and am around sick people all the time, germs would not ‘bug’ me. And, to an extent, in a hospital, they do not. But ‘bugs’ outside the hospital bother me. However, living in the Northeast, gyms are, on occasion, a place I need to go to run.
***Or rest day–being on your feet for twelve hours makes early workouts before work tough.
A Rendezvous with Sneakers 