After completing 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons, I decided to take a break from endurance running, heal and recover from the 3 years of training for a half marathon and focus on running the distance of a 5K. I wanted to see what I could do to increase speed rather than endurance. In my mind's eye I see it all coming together with speed and endurance but for now I am focusing on seeing what this body can do with speed.
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about being at a new starting line. I'm feeling momentum in my health and wellness journey.
The first step in my recovery from the 3 consecutive half marathons was to heal a hip/back/groin issue. Weekly chiropractic treatments, cross training and strength training, stretching, rolling out with a massage stick and visualization have helped my body's healing process.
I've been extremely patient with my recovery process. It's a miracle that, given my history of childhood paralytic polio and trauma, and the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome 11 years ago that I run and am able to maintain a 5 day a week training regimen! I get a flood of emails for races and have declined all but one: The 5th Annual Middlemiss Big Heart 5K. I signed up as a walker but given my last two outings, I could have signed up as a runner.
On Saturday Tom and I did an out and back route from Carson Beach out to U Mass Boston. It was a hot and humid day. I tend to wilt in the heat and have difficulty pushing myself. We took frequent water stops, enjoyed the magnificent views and I ran one of my fastest times since last year ... a pace of 17'47"/mile, a tremendous feat for me as I wrote about in a recent blog post.
This morning we set the alarm for 6:00am given the searing heat and humidity that has been hovering over Boston. We meditated and did our core work. We have intensified our core work and strength training. Lots of water, a banana and off we went on Day 3/5 on my 5 day a week training cycle. There was a lot of shade and a downhill that I took advantage of. When we got to the Bridge before we crossed over to the Reservoir, I took a quick water break. My first mile was a 17'50" but that included a slow warm up as we went out the door.
Once we got on the Reservoir path I picked up my pace. I stopped at our halfway point for a water stop. We had to take a detour since part of the Reservoir was closed off this morning. We decided to go up a steep hill to Chestnut Hill Avenue and loop around the Reservoir on Beacon Street. When we stopped for a quick water stop at mile 2, our time was 17'05". I felt so proud of how well I was doing on the run. Chestnut Hill Avenue is a downhill which I know helped my pace for the last 1.1 miles. I clocked it at 16'32" with an overall pace of 17'05".
With the detour we had an opportunity to do a cool down before we got home.
Success breeds success! I knew that I could and would improve my pace once my hip/back/groin healed. Having a stronger core and building muscle strength contributes to running a faster pace with greater ease.
My endorphins were kicking after our run. I can see in my mind's eye that I can get back to running 5K races and enjoying every mile of the journey. It's great to not have any pressure to achieve any particular goals right now. After all...I am in competition with no one...I just want to be my health and fitness best ... I just aim to improve ... that's me and I'm free.
From my heart to yours,
To your health and wellness,
Mary
My healing journey is going to be featured in David R. Hamilton's soon to be released book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body." It's available for pre-order on Amazon.
Be sure to visit my website by following this link.
My books are available on Amazon.
Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life
Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:
Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):
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