I thought I would take a break from my vacation stories to talk about coming back home.
I remember last year, after a week of indulging while camping that I had a TERRIBLE time getting back on track eating wise. Fortunately that has not been the case this time. I have returned to healthy, normal meals without indulgence. I’m still on vacation, and I feel like I “deserve” a few more treats before this week ends, but for now I am content with a return to routine.
Coming back has seen a return of “Landscaper Jen”. She is wonderful for getting my ass back into shape. Thanks to last year having spent a week attacking my flower beds and some heavy mulching a couple of weeks ago, my beds are in great condition and needed very little work. But I spent Friday getting all of them weeded and looking purty. 
Saturday was a total work day. The veggie garden is starting to sprout veggie plants, but also WEEDS! I have been hoeing, but it hasn’t gotten all of them. So for 3 hours I Saturday, I was on my hands and knees pounding out those little fuckers with a vengeance! Is it weird that I feel like the weeds are there JUST to piss me off???
So there has been some good news – although I am still avoiding the scale and my belly and thighs look fat. It’s not like knowing the number would change anything, but somehow it seems to keep me sane not knowing how far up I am!
But the main bad news is my running. I have fallen off the wagon HARD. Every time I go to run it is painful and exhausting. I struggled through 8 miles on Friday and then I went to do my long run yesterday and again, made it only 8 horrific miles before giving up. I don’t really pay attention to my heart rate when I run, but after getting home, I see that it was an average of 196 beats per minute!! That is INSANE.
After getting home from that I quickly grabbed Archer and we did another 6 miles alternating between walking and running and that was okay, so I wasn’t consumed with guilt, but I’m not sure what the hell is going on that I’ve taken a gigantic step backwards! It’s totally demoralizing.
My new kicks came in – my old ones are pretty worn and I’m hoping some new sneaks might help the leg soreness.
I’m at a total loss at this point….
Research running and over-training and/or training smart. 8-10 miles to the average runner, which I think is the category you fall under (running for fitness and health not necessarily to complete 6 marathons in a year or to qualify for Boston) IS considered a fairly "long" run and you don't do a "long" run every damn day (even when training for a marathon)! You sound like you have an injury going on that may or may not just need some rest or at least a break from the repetitive nature of running. You are definitely an inspiration (if a bit obsessed, said with a smile) so please don't take this as criticism. You are really pretty good at "reading" yourself emotionally so listen to your physical self and maybe seek some professional advise from a running coach. Running happy and injury free should be the goal. P.S. I have no doubt you could qualify for Boston!
ReplyDeleteI truly appreciate your thoughts! I realize that I am obsessed to a point - I don't think that anyone who has not been morbidly obese can truly understand the fear that any small disruption can lead back down that path. I am **trying** to listen to my body and be reasonable!
DeleteJen