The Georgia Marathon countdown clock has officially dropped below 200 days...199 days to go until I'm expecting myself to run 26.2 miles. No pressure. Plenty of time to go. Enough time to get there? Hmm...
Mad-dog trainer and I set out to strengthen my leg muscles this morning...particularly those meant to support my knees (read: plenty of squats and leg presses). Several times I had to stop between repetitions because of the burn. Mad-dog's consolation: "Embrace the burn, and if you stop again, you'll add 5 more reps." Feel the pain. Embrace the pain. Move through the pain. Finish.
Knee updates: My knee held up through the intense workout this morning and all the way to lunch time. As I'm trying to be more in control of my diet these days, I went home to eat a well balanced meal for lunch (lucky me...I live less than two minutes from my job...driving). Sitting on my couch, watching a rerun of "Miami Ink", I went to lift my legs up on the couch and....crack...my left knee made a big cracking sound. Umm...that doesn't sound good. Luckily, there isn't any pain or swelling...but the advice I keep getting from everyone..."Listen to your body"...well, I literally heard my body...and a clear message said..."Stop". A few days ago, I was marveling over my ability to make demands of my body and it responds to the request...I'd certainly say so.
What does a cracking sound mean for my training preparation, you ask? Well, it means that I'm going to give it a rest for a few days...literally. I'm still going to hit the gym, but focus more on strength training instead of running. Here is my mind's proposed training schedule for the rest of my body's work week:
Wednesday: Rice crispy treat, couch, a good book, early to bed.
Thursday: Instead of running, I'll focus on arms and abs. Perhaps take Beef on a walk after work.
Friday: Strength training...arms and abs again.
Saturday: If things seem to be settled, I'm going to try my hand at a 5K race (the one I spoke about in the last post). My pace will be slow and not focused on time, but rather finishing.
Sunday: Core training and a walk (maybe even a swim).
The good thing about this experience is that I'm now more aware and respectful of my body's abilities and needs/requests/demands. Secondly, this has not weakened my spirits at all. I'm still going to make it across the finish line on March 20th, 2011...don't you worry.
Here is a quote that has some resonance today (and possibly my mantra until the end of the race):
"Every step forward is a step closer to the finish line! Run, walk, or even crawl if you must, but no matter what: keep moving forward!"
Yours in (knee resting, rest of body) training,
Dani
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