A Little Running

I've been increasing mileage lately. If all goes well, I will be running a half marathon in February and a full in April. I realized a few weeks ago that it is time to step up my game and get back to what I love - distance running. 

I won't lie. It hasn't been easy. I took the longest break of my running career this year. 

I had to stop running at 30 weeks with Karson because the pain and soreness had become unbearable. I wanted to keep running longer but purposely making myself miserable would have been silly. I was fortunate that I have an elliptical and could do a good deal of low impact cardio and yoga until the day he was born. I had a c-section this time so I didn't run as quickly after delivery as I did with Jackson. I started easy one week after Karson was born with walking and the elliptical and didn't run for about 3 weeks.

I had 9 total weeks off from running. Since we started running in 2004, I have only had one break over a week and that was because I was wearing a boot for 4 or 5 weeks to heal a stress reaction. Otherwise, I run.

After getting back in the game this summer and starting to find a groove, I fell down the stairs. Ugh.

So, after another week or so of taking it easy, I laced up and headed out again. Admittedly, I have been pretty inconsistent. Having a second baby on top of the older child, being a wife, working full-time, and a good deal of community commitments floating around, I have found it hard to get a workout routine. I have slowly begun to increase my long run mileage. I have still been working out 7 days a week but not at the intensity that I have seen over the years.

With all that said, the time is now. I am roughly 8 weeks away from the half. I ran 9 miles on Saturday and that was my longest run in a year. Next week is 10. From there, the number just goes up. I will hit my first 20 miler since 2011 in March. Crazy talk. 

It isn't easy. I am sore from yesterday's 9 miler. I can remember when 9 miles was a mid-week long run or the result of a two-a-day and hopefully I will know that routine again soon.

I'm not worried about speed. For now, I just want to run and I want to run long. I am going to have to pay a lot of attention to food because I am still breastfeeding so I need to make sure that we are both getting a good deal of nutrients. I am seeing a massage therapist regularly to help me avoid injury and work out kinks that may be creeping up.

This is just another start line that will lead me to other start and finish lines. I am looking forward to the journey and getting back to my running self.

See you on the roads.