I've heard it said...

"After the race, I mused on marathon running...and how it provides males with insight into another exception, the experience of childbirth. In both cases, marked agony and exhaustion are subsumed by such lasting gratification that you are moved to repeat the process."
Jerome Groopman in The Boston Marathon, by Joe Falls
Haha! This makes me smile...only because I believe a man will never know the agony and exhaustion of childbirth but I do understand how one would experience such gratification that they feel they must do it again. It is pure craziness! That we would do these tough things over and over again, knowing the pain and stress we'd endure...and the prize at the end is much more than gratification...so much more.

I RAN FAST TODAY!
I've heard it said that you run faster and push harder when you're running with others. Well, I wasn't running with others this morning but I was being 'followed' by another runner on the same sidewalk. She was slowly gaining on me but it took her the entire first mile to catch me. I was happy when I looked down at my watch to spy the numbers 9:34. WOOT!
Now I knew my time would go down from there because I do not wish to 'catch' or keep up with this gal. I'm not competitive in that way. But I did push myself harder for a second mile that timed out at 10:22 and a third mile at 10:35. I was excited because I found myself in a chilly headwind! No, I wasn't excited about the headwind itself, I was excited that I still had those times while fighting the headwind!

I've heard it said(not from a professional) that running slow and feeling more pain vs. running fast with less pain makes sense. I found that to be mostly true today. I ran virtually pain free...but my lungs were DEAD by the end. In my opinion, it has to do with form. Of course you're strides will be different if you run slower...of course your foot strikes will be different...of course your upper body will compensate in different ways and of course it will take you longer to cover your mileage. OF COURSE!

I've heard it said that you should be careful about what or if you eat before a workout. This is a mistake I made yesterday that nearly resulted in my upchucking chips and salsa all over the treadmill. Melissa was kind enough to remind me that chips and salsa 45minutes before a run/workout probably wasn't the best idea...BUT I WAS STARVING!

WAIT
What I mean is WEIGHT. As in, my WEIGHT is WAITING...for what, I dunno. But it's waiting to go anywhere. And I wish it would just leave. There's got to be a better place for it than on my hips and stomach. I mean, what fun is it to be covered up and ashamed of? If I were the fat on my body I'd leave all the time because it's been made very apparent that I'm not wanted. I mean, it makes everything in life harder. Running, fitting into my clothes, bending over to touch my toes...it irks me to know that, at one time, I could put my face to my knees...but I can't now because my belly chub is in the way. BLAH. And the moment that I decide I will or won't eat this or that, I get ambushed from all sides. "Where's my defense?!" I cry. Today I was presented with a Starbucks card and a chocolate/carmel/choc.chip covered candy apple from my boss. And a patient brought home made caramels. Why?! Karma? Murphy's Law? Sheer irony? This is a sick, sick game I play. Here's why it's sick. I rarely over eat (but sometimes its just soooo good)...I suffer through rice cakes with peanut butter, an apple nearly every day for lunch with a turkey sandwich made with one slice of bread, and cheese stick for a mid-day snack. Dinners have usually been chicken and rice (in many different forms) or something full of veggies and goodness. Snacks are usually oranges or something small and NOT chocolatey. I'm averaging 15 miles a week and I've seen no movement in that damn fat. It's not like I'm feeding it to keep it around!!! But I dream of the day that I will be fat-less and will be able to run easier. Part of my desire to be a runner is to also LOOK like a runner.
IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK? HUH, FAT? IS IT? grr...