Friday, May 17, 2013

On Re-Entry..

Whoa! What's this? A blog post? Shut the front door!

I know, it's been awhile.. I absolutely love blogging, but life has been insane, and every time I sit down to write something, I get pulled away into something else. That said, away we go.

After Stonecat, and then Philly a couple weeks later, my body cried mercy. I needed to take a vacation from running. This doesn't mean not running (I mean, that would just be silly), but it meant a break from a rigid training schedule. Stonecat was the first race since my first marathon that I was actually afraid of not being able to finish. My longest long run was 31 miles, and the race 19 miles longer. I trusted the training, but I was a S-L-A-V-E to that training schedule. I wanted to ensure that I did everything I could to be as race ready as possible when I toed that line.

The start of Stonecat.. 

Colleen and I pre-race

After Philly, for most of December, and January, and February, and.... I was logging slow miles. I retired my Garmin boyfriend, and ran with either the Timex, or no watch at all. I watched birds, I picked flowers, I walked when I wanted to walk. Some weekends I ran 20 miles at a time, others I logged 5 for the entire weekend. I had zero desire to race, run fast, or do anything than just be running. Or power-walking. Either way.. 

In February, I ran the Hyannis Marathon with Sara. It was her first marathon post baby, and we wanted to have fun. I thought that might be the fire under my ass that I needed to run faster than pedestrian pace. It rained/sleeted/hailed that day, and the winds howled at 35mph. Yeah, there was no desire to put in a mile any faster than a light jog. However we did help a friend PR at the half marathon distance, and had so much damn fun along the way. Isn't that what this sport is all about?

In April, we ran Boston before Boston. It's a ritual we have, every year we don't qualify. Our "punishment" is  running the entire course, but with none of the glory and fanfare. It's still damn awesome. That was the first day I put on my Garmin. But I never started it, because I was too scared. We had a good day, and I actually "pushed" the last 10K of the course. It felt surprisingly good to move again. 

Re-Entry.... After Boston I reunited with G-Man. I didn't look at my pace for the first few days. I was Captain Huff 'n'Puff, knowing damn well I was still frickin slow. It was a start though, and I needed to start somewhere. 



Over the past few weeks, I've slowly been chipping away at those paces. I've made it a point to finish every run feeling strong, and I'm watching my "easy" pace come down to some semblance of yesteryear. 

This week, when I was struggling to keep a solid pace, I remembered the re-entry from this, about a year ago: 


If I went from being in a cast, where 9+ inches of stitches laid underneath, to a 50 mile ultramarathon 6 months later, I can certainly handle a re-entry into the world of tempo runs, track workouts, and Garmins. It'll take time to get back where I want to be, but it'll be so worth it when I finally get there. 

Happy Running! 

7 comments:

  1. Annnd yet again, your words light a fire under my own ass to run with even an ounce of the passion that you run with. I LOVE reading about your thoughts on running, your approach to it, and your modesty about how GREAT of a runner you truly are. LOVE your words, and have missed them, admittedly. :)

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  2. Glad to see you back!! Since I got prego and running I retired my Garmin and was wondering how I would do when I came back to running post-baby, I think I may follow your lead with no Garmin for a while until I'm back.

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  3. Yes you can, my speedy mcSpeed ever-loving-running fiend!! I love your passion, always, and it keeps ME going too. And we need a rundate :) miss youuuu!

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  4. Glad you are back! :) And I love that you took some time to enjoy your running. You'll come back stronger for that!

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  5. To: Meaghan #Triathlete #Marathoner
    From: Darin Armstrong #TeamLIVESTRONG

    ***Special #FollowFriday #Shoutout To: @Meaghan262 #Triathlete #Marathoner - http://meaghansmiles.blogspot.com

    Hello Meaghan,
    The above is what your #Twitter #FollowFriday #Shoutout will look like this Friday should you do a 'mutual' following with me on twitter. If you want changes made above, not a problem. ('Smart Individual Marketing/PR')

    Just a quick message to ask if you would be interested in a ‘mutual’ following on twitter that will benefit you. (#FYI I do RT’s ‘Anytime’ for all #Ironman #Triathletes #Cyclists #UltraRunners #Marathoners #FitnessProfessionals who follow me on Twitter and have something important they want mentioned for support…(Over 41K folks at your access...) I am currently following you now and am awaiting your follow-back...

    All the very best to you & yours for the rest of 2013 & beyond Meaghan. Look forward to hearing from you...

    (PS. Reminder: Meaghan, should you follow back, I'll be mentioning you 'Including Your Website' in a 'Stand Alone' #FollowFriday #Shoutout this coming Friday....)


    Darin
    twitter.com/DarinArmstrong
    #TeamLIVESTRONG

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  6. hi meghan i was researching CECS and looking for a doctor referral. let me know if you can help longy21@hotmail.com

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