Doing What I Can....

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do" -John Wooden

Love this quote that I just found. And it is so fitting for where I am right now in my running. I admit that I don't like the fact that I have had to start over in my running. I liked where I was prior to hip surgery (minus the pain/frustration with my hip). I was becoming a much stronger and better runner then and injury really has completely sidetracked me and forced me to start all over. Ugh! But with a repaired labrum in my left hip, I have to be careful about overdoing it and I need to challenge myself too. It's a strange predicament to be in! I mean, seriously, how do you challenge yourself without pushing yourself a bit further? That's where I am and what I am working on though.

I did get a really cool present for my birthday from my dear friends, Cathy and Robert...a Nike Ipod Sport kit. Here is a pic of the sensor that goes in your Nike shoe or if you are like me and have another brand, in your shoe adapter that attaches to the front of your shoe by the laces. There is another piece that you plug into the bottom of your iPod and you use it when you run.

You start your workout. As your run or walk, the sensor sends information to your device, tracking your time, distance, pace, and calories burned. If you choose, real-time, spoken feedback can even alert you to milestones throughout your workout. Then you download the information back to the Nike website and it gives you all your workout details. You can track all your info. At the website, you can set up for coaching for certain goals or races. You can also join challenges or set goals for yourself. All in all, I am pretty impressed with this. I have used it multiple times and it is such an awesome tool to aid me in my return to running!

I will also be getting another new tool in my training. Tye informed me this past week that he will be leaving the gym for a better job offer. I am so happy for him and very excited about his opportunity. However, I am terrified about what this means for me. I still have 4 months of training left. I am going to try a new trainer out on Friday and feel him out and see if it is a good fit. I really hope that it is, because I would prefer to not have to cancel my training contract early. I already knew I was not going to renew when it was over, but I wasn't prepared to lose Tye this early. So, I will keep you posted on how the new trainer and I work out. I have always said that choosing a trainer is similar to dating, if you don't get a good feel for the trainer, then you are not going to work hard for them. I am very apprehensive, but I also feel this may end up being a positive thing too. So, for now, I am reserving judgment. We shall see!

Today, Cathy and I got together for our long slow distance day. The original plan was to shoot for 8-10 miles. We ended up doing 11.5 miles. And some of those miles included some insane hills!! I felt pretty good about today. I worked hard not to overwork the hip but also challenged myself too. This week, I am hoping to get 3 days of running in with about 3-4 miles each day. And then on Saturday, we will be doing another long slow distance day and our goal is going to be 12-14 miles.

And after our mileage today, I was a good girl. I did a long period of stretching to help ease up the muscles. Tonight, I am icing the hip and my knees to relieve any stress and inflammation. And I took some Advil to ease the irritation. Hopefully after a good night of sleep, I will be recovered and ready to hit some more mileage in tomorrow.

Anyways, my new goal for the half in Myrtle Beach is no longer trying to beat my times from previous halfs. I am no longer stressing over time or trying to compare myself to my pre-surgery running. For now, I am relearning my love of running and rebuilding my endurance. Any other races that I do this year will go in the same category. The past 10k and 5k, I pushed myself harder trying to compete with my pre-surgery running and it didn't work as well. So, I decided to be more realistic. Also, Chuck has been coaching me some on my running and has finally beat that into my head! I am relarning running strategy and building endurance. And I am excited about Myrtle Beach at the end of the month! Now, I just have to get my mileage in every week and plan for some recovery miles each week too!

Well, it's been a long weekend and I am so ready for bed!! Time to let the body get some recovery in!!