the comeback kid!

i am finally back to where i left off.. running up to 6 miles!

saturday i ran the full loop in central park. i concentrated on pacing myself.. coach ramon explained to us that the long runs on saturday are about endurance and we should be running a bit slower than our racing pace. now, i have no idea what the heck my racing pace might be but i'm figuring it will be about 9 minute miles (like to hope for 8:30, but i'm going conservative for now). the theory is that if you practice at a slower pace your body will be used to running for a longer ammount of time. then on the day of your race you will finish before your body knows it's done.. in theory. in reality i have a feeling my body will know it's done long before the 26th mile!

it was a great day, the park was full and i was happy to have a goal of 6 miles again. during this run though i was really fighting myself. this time around i am finding the urge to just stop and walk is much stronger. i am conscious of every pounding step i take, every ache, every pain. always worried that i will step on uneven ground and end up injured again or that i will just push myself too far, too fast. there is no way to tell why i got injured last time, so i don't really know what to do differntly this time. just keep trying to follow the rules, take calcium and as coach ramon says 'behave'!

after practice i stoped to say hi to ramon.. i reminded him that i was a 'san diego reject' and that i was finally back to training with the group. i of course didn't need to remind ramon of anything, he knew just who i was and quickly asked how the recovery was coming along. he told me that the biggest hurdle would be getting my confidence back and not to worry. every ache is not an injury. sooooo right. i was having much stronger runs last time and have been frustrated that it is more work this time around. but he also reminded me that i WILL make it to the race in october, and when i DO cross that finishline it will be that much sweeter.

i've started a new list on this blog.. nutrition is an important part of running distance. the right foods can power you through the race, but the WRONG ones can wreck you! sooo, this list is based on research that i am conducting. foods that are not good choices the day before a run. you can thank me later.

miles run this week: 15
song that got me up harlem hill: 'tango' by lady soverign