I had not run in 2 weeks - it started because of the cold but continued because of fear. Fear of finding out how much I had lost with that break, of how hard it would feel, and of how long it would take to get back to where I was with cardio and endurance.
It's true.. the only think you have to fear is fear itself.
Saturday I ran for about 5 miles on the Scuppernong Trail. I still had the tail end of my cold and had to carry water because my throat needed it constantly throughout the run (our sag wagon had water at around the 3 mile point), but overall it was fine. If I had not had the trail running program, there is no way I would have gotten out and ran that morning. No way. But I did have the program, and I did run, and it was fine. No, better than fine; it was GOOD. I felt good, and I felt capable. I'm grateful I had the insight to sign up for the trail running program - to be fully honest I was a bit intimidated by the concept and wasn't confident that I was capable of trail running - but it's been good, first and foremost it has kept me running and increased my distances. Saturda's 5 miles was the longest I've run since 2007 when I completed the Green Bay Half Marathon.
We have 2 more outings for the Trail Program - and the last one could be a 9 miler for me. There is a 6 mile loop and a 9 mile loop. Marty (our leader) thinks I can (and should) to the 9 miler. Once again, I'm not confident...but considering the scuppernong run...I'm beginning to believe I'm capable of it. What I need I to do is to bump up my running over these next two weeks to prove to myself that I can do the 9 mile run.
As a side note, this post started in my mind with frustration at waking up with a very soar neck today. It had started yesterday with waking up with a mild soar neck - it hurt a little and had some limited mobility on the left side. I'm positive the trail running did not help it any. The neck continued to mildly hurt throughout the day and impacted my sleep. This morning it was painful - there is no other words to describe it. And I thought for sure this would keep me from pilates class tonight and probably limiting my additional running this week. Well a heating pad session, a few alieve, some simple stretching and it's feeling much better. I'm confident that I'll be able to participate in pilates and that the stretching and movement from tonight's class will improve the neck - confident that I'm capable. And I'm feeling like I'll be able to add those morning runs in this week to make Saturday's trail running go smooth. It really is very nice and empowering to have a core belief that I'm confident in my capabilities.
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