I'm Gonna Run Again!

I feel as if I'm embarking on a new beginning of sorts.  Because, yes...

The time has finally come, people!

I am now clear to start RUNNING again.

I feel like this is the beginning of a new chapter in running for me.  A little more than a year ago, for the first time in a long time, I decided to put one foot in front of the other to see where running would take me.  Throughout the months that followed I went farther and faster than I'd ever imagined I could (I should mention here that I have a pretty crappy, limited capacity for imagination), and my hopes and expectations for my running just kept getting bigger.  I did some things right, and I did some things really wrong.  I went about running in a pretty haphazard fashion.  I didn't respect my body's signals and, in return, my body sort of stood there with it's hand on it's hip and said "Oh really?  We'll just see about that..."  My body decided to teach me a lesson.

The lesson was:  Hey doofball!  You just started really running a year ago, you're almost 35, and you're not doing a whole lot in the way of stretching, strength training, cross-training, or any of that other crap you could be doing to make this easier on yourself, not to mention helping you become a better runner to boot!

Well, ten-four good body! (ha ha, I made a funny. sorry.) I have had 6 long weeks to think about this lesson, and I read you loud and clear.  So, as I start over again, I want to make the best of this "clean slate" and here's how:

• I will start back slowly (as much as it is going to KILL me).  I'm just going to have to force this on myself.
• I will continue on with the yoga I've gotten back into.  Doing the yoga has made me realize just how inflexible I was and I understand how important the flexibility is in preventing further injury.
• I will incorporate cross-training into my routine in the forms of yoga, spin and swimming.  Yes, I said swimming.  ACK!  It scares me just to write that out, but I've been inspired by Kris at The Heart and Humor of Being Human.  She recently began a swimming routine and made it sound doable even for a swim-a-phobe like me.  Now, I will say that I will not be doing a whole lot of this cross-training until the school year starts because I just don't make it over to our gym very often during the summer while my kids are home with me.  But, come September, when my kids are both in school and I'm working at the preschool, which just happens to be about 3 minutes from my gym, I should have no excuses.
• I will start running more races and will look for a charitable cause to run for.  I see now that races are a great way to keep your training purposeful and on track, and running for a charitable cause gives your training real meaning.  I feel lucky to be able to do these things and should show the universe some gratitude by making it count for others.

In preparation for some early morning runs the alarm clock has been moved back over to my nightstand!

So, here I go...can't wait to start putting one foot in front of the other again.