On Saturday morning, I got up early with K as he headed out for his long run. After saying my hello's, I didn't run the workout with his group and headed off in my own direction on TLT. I started my weekends out there for several years, but this was the first time that I've been out there for a Saturday morning "long" run since Summer, 2009. That's a pretty incredible realization for someone who has the identity of a runner. It also marked my 5th day of running for the week (in addition to a gym workout), which was also a change back to old ways. Must mean the beginning of marathon training...
Yup, it's time.
I found out on Monday that I got into St. George after I very impulsively entered the lottery two weeks ago. I think the marathon Gods are giving me another chance to take care of unfinished business. I didn't get in the lottery in 2007, which is the year that I really wanted to get in. I reapplied in 2008 to keep hope alive for the guaranteed entry of "3rd time is a charm" because I really didn't want to get in that year as the race was shortly after our wedding and honeymoon. But, I got in. I deferred my entry to 2009 though so I didn't have to deal with the stress of marathon training while planning a wedding (nevermind the fact that I thought training for my first 50k during that period would be fine though). But, I didn't make it to the starting line in 2009 because 3 50k's, a marathon, and countless other shorter distance races in a 10 month period took it's toll on my body and forced me out 2 months before the race due to injury. 2010 was a wash from all running with the ankle fracture. So, that brings us to 2011. And, the hope that I can make it to the start line this year and get this damn St. George monkey off my back!
After our runs on Saturday morning, we quickly regrouped and headed over to Texas School for the Deaf to get our butts kicked by trainer extraordinaire Jillian Michaels. 30 minutes of pure butt kicking.
We topped off the day with the wedding of another running couple, Meg and Josh. After 2 traditional Catholic weddings in Ohio recently, this was such a nice change of pace. Everything was very low-key and unpretentious and a great reflection of them as a couple and the love they share. It also reminded me of how important the running community is in our lives. It is the foundation that brought us together 5 years ago.
Thankfully, we made it a relatively early night because I had another butt kicking in store for me this morning. This time in the form of Pure Barre, an intense workout fusing elements of ballet, pilates and weights. Thanks to a neighbor, I heard that they were offering free classes this weekend at their new Arboretum location so I thought I would give it a try. I'm pretty sure that tomorrow I will be saying "ouch." I think what I will take away from it is that it really exposed my areas of weakness - the dreaded core. My upper body is in pretty good shape thanks to weight work at the gym and my lower body is good thanks to running and other cardio, as well as weights. It's the area in between that is lacking. But, I already knew that going in. It's just so hard to find time to fit everything in - strength training, core, flexibility - once the weekly mileage starts increasing. We all know how important those things are (and will even make us better runners), but I struggle with how to fit it all in.
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