Patience; the new endurance sport.

Man, I have been bad at logging miles since school and soccer started.  I've been averaging 25-28 miles a week (4-6 a day).  I still have to switch it up a lot (treadmill, walk/jog/yoga/yoga/yoga).  I've been running the mountain bike trails behind Sundance and a few trails in the American Fork Canyon. Lots of LOUD elk up there.  I saw one with huge antlers that felt like they were 5 feet long. I was worried he'd rush me when he saw I wasn't one of the mules he'd been calling.  The last two weeks in the mountains has seen a breathtaking transformation. The beauty of the changing leaves against the sunrise, blue sky, or the lush wet trail after it's rained is so intense I have to stop and let it overcome me.  Terri says I'm like that You Tube guy who videotaped a double rainbow, and he's so stoned or whatever, that he starts crying and asking the Universe "what does it (the double rainbow) mean?" Yeah, I'm that guy.  But I am unashamed. Nothing makes me feel more free or at peace than being outside.  I miss the days I used to have the desolate beaches of Baja California in my life, but the solitude of the mountain and the quiet of the red rock Utah desert has been a good second.  Lately, I'm feeling my legs stronger and stronger (though my cardio strength and energy level is still lacking).  But I am happy to report having found a happy medium 9:50-11:00 minute pace that (mostly) does not hurt my lower back, hip, ham, or patelar tendons.  I think back on how hard I trained to qualify for Boston, how hard I learned to run and how dedicated I was.  I am proud to have done that. But I am also happy to have found some peace, even when I am not able to make my body perform as it used to. 

10:30/9:13/9:13/9:00/9:13--9:30/10:30  gangamtreadmillstyle

See how non-OCD I have become?  I ran 5.9 miles and didn't even feel the need to run an extra .10   Saw Josse on the trail, had a little chat about blood sugar, dogs, and the Huntsville Marathon. I dragged the rest of my run thinking it was the power of suggestion (the chat about low blood sugar) had caused me to feel dizzy and dragging;but when I came back my blood sugar was in fact really low (55...oops).  I have to remember to eat before I leave.  I think it was because I ran two miles in the PM before bed, and then didn't eat breakfast. I hate having to strategize eating.  It was the one thing I really hated about marathon training (what to eat, how to eat, when to eat/drink).  I've felt so free of it, but the low blood sugar thing is a problem so I have to deal with it.