Skip to main content

Starting Over and 1st 5 by 5th

This weekend I completed my first 5 by the 5th run. I think that might trump just about everything else that happened over the weekend. Though I did enjoy a nice lunch with Jason on Saturday then a girls' afternoon of shopping and eating with my bestie. AND I got to run again with my running buddy. It was a pretty good weekend ;-)

Before I found out I had this blood clot, I signed up for the 5 by 5th Virtual Run Series that Laura from Mommy Run Fast has put together. I was worried I wouldn't be able to participate (at least in January), but luckily I got the ok to run, and now I have a goal to work for each month.


Basically, the “5 by the 5th” – a virtual race series in which we run (or race!) a 5k or 5 mile run by the 5th of each month, from January to June, 2013. I've never done a virtual race before, so I thought this would be fun to be a part of.

I barely made my 5 by the 5th this month. But am so thankful that I was able to do it!

It was hard. I had to stop a few times to recover. And by stop, I mean literally stop and stand around for a few seconds. Let's just say that I welcomed busy intersections for a change. But I was giddy afterwards from the accomplishment. Having an injury or illness that prevents you from running or working out can be humbling to say the least.

I feel like I'm starting over, and that can be frustrating. Before the clot, I had worked my booty off to increase my speed and keep up some pretty decent weekly miles. I was consistently running around 35 miles a week with a double-digit long run.

I was really proud of my new "comfortable" pace and was able to sustain that for 8 miles. Now? I can't manage that pace for even half a mile let alone 8 miles. Actually, I can barely manage more than 2 miles without a break for that matter. Sometimes not even a single mile.

I know that the clot is the biggest issue. It's causing me to have major shortness of breath, almost like an asthma attack actually (I noticed that that can also be a side effect of the medication as well). But no inhaler can fix the problem.

My legs feel heavy and I'm absolutely fatigued to the core. 1 mile feels like 3 miles, 5 felt like I'd run a PR'd half marathon. Humbling. I guess this is what it feels like to most people just starting to run. I can see why it'd be easy to give up and declare a hatred for running.

I've had to start over after injuries twice before. But this feels so much harder than coming back after an injury. Not being able to breathe is such a frightening (and frustrating) feeling. It's like your body just isn't functioning for you any longer. And when you've seen yourself as fit and healthy, then it's like a huge blow to your world. 

Have you ever had to start over? Have you ever participated in a virtual race or even a running challenge?

Comments

  1. Congrats on getting your 5 miles!!!! You are a true warrior! I think your type of injury is 10x worse than any other. It'll take time but you'll be back and better than ever soon enough!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Love in Photos

In honor of Valentine's Day - Love in Photos Husband Family and Furbabies Friends Even if you're not a fan of Valentine's Day - I hope you have a wonderful day and remember the loves in your life.

Hump Day and More Pineapples

Full-Body Workout  I'll readily admit that getting up this morning was quite painful and almost didn't happen. I forced myself out of bed though not exactly excited about tackling a full-body Pyramid workout. Sort of daunting at 5 am really. I did the warm up from Shock Cardio Cardio Core Circuit (cardio only premix) then hit the weights. It was a pyramid up only so I increased my starting weight. I topped it all off with the first 2 1/2 drills from the cardio workout. I ran short on time and was basically spent. Squats into Plie Squats Step Ups (seriously hate these especially at 5:30 am) Incline Chest Flyes into Chest Press Pullovers into DB Underhand Rows Step Ups (freaking again) Static Lunges Overhead DB Press into Lateral Raises Deadlifts Kickbacks into Overhead Extensions Hammer Curls into Alternating Curls Calf Raises I am so excited to report that my new cross-trainers and running shoes arrived today. Can't wait to test both of them out. I waited way way way too

Hitting the Gym and Lazy Means Creative Tex-Mex Creation

Sunday, Gym Day Why do vacations and min-vacations go by so quickly? Just doesn't seem quite right. Anyway, we left Branson around 9:30 am to head back home. It was a pretty uneventful drive back, which is usually a good thing. We got home and unpacked, then I headed up to the gym. I started with a 10-minute treadmill run to warm up before hitting the weights for back and light legs then abs. I went with a giant set for back then supersets for legs. GS - 4x8 Underhand barbell rows Pullovers Double-arm rows SS#1 Rear-leg elevated lunges (Bulgarian Split Squats) - 3x8 Calf raises - 3x20 SS#2 - 2x8 Walking lunges Plie squats with low-end pulse Single-leg deadlifts - 2x8 I did some ab exercises, stretched, and called it quits. Lazy = Crazy Dinner I may have made it to the gym and washed a few loads of laundry, but I never made it to the grocery store - lounging in the pool trumped grocery shopping. This meant getting creative with dinner. We had another package