Just when you then you're hot stuff...

You sprain your ankle.

This is what happened:

I had run 2 miles, then did about 10 minutes of aerobic intervals (sprint, recover, jog, sprint). It was 6:30 am, the sun was rising, the weather cool and a little breezy, perfect for a run. I'm hearing some ramped up version of Enya on my IPOD, thinking about how my training manual talked about not pushing yourself too hard doing the aerobic intervals because that spells I-N-J-U-R-Y. Hah, I nearly said out loud. Injury? Not me. And in that moment, slow-motion like, I land. On my ankle. and then land on the knee of the opposing leg. Then nearly kiss the gravel with my forehead. Not pretty or graceful. Embarrassing really.

I then sit there, in the driveway of some poor sap who is no doubt looking out his window thinking, "What the devil is that woman doing sitting on my driveway? Especially at this hour?!" And I'm thinking, "Death. Sweet death. Where are you? I want to die." (Melodrama is my forte, can you tell?). I was sure my ankle snapped in half. Mind you, aside from all three births of my children and a little accident that involved me falling out of a tree house when I was six years old and breaking both of my wrists, I'm not accustomed to physical pain. So after the initial searing pain, I think, breath through the pain, it'll go away. So I begin my yogic breathing, "Inhale, expand, Exhale, release..." followed by the horrific thought that my plans to run this glorious half-marathon would have to be scrapped because I'm a big dope and broke my ankle. No, I didn't break it, I reassured myself. Give me a few more minutes, I'll walk this off, and I'll be fine. So after a few minutes of this nonsensical thinking, I get up, hobble for a bit, then think, I still have 2 more miles I'm supposed to run. The schedule says I have to run 4 miles. And being a strict one for schedules, I put Enya back in my ear, and go on my merry way.

I don't tell you this to say, "Look at me. Look at how strong and brave, and cool I am." No my friend, I'm telling you, if you go running, and you roll/sprain/break your ankle, whatever you do, no matter what your brain tells you, do not continue to run. I know, it's sounds so logical now. But what I didn't know then, that I know now, is that these things (ankles) swell up after a bit, and things actually get worse, especially if you use it.

Running, Breathing

I'm not a natural born runner. I don't know exactly what that means, other than to say that I know people who are and I'm not one of those types. You know, the gazelle-like person who can run for miles and miles at break-neck speed and it comes as natural to them as breathing.

I have hope that though I may not be naturally inclined to such gracefullness, speed, and endurance, I can aspire to it. And maybe, surprise myself at my ability. You see, I have a "creationist" mentality at heart, and believe you can create whatever you want for your life. So I'm not a natural born runner, but who says I can't become one?

I've always craved movement. I've exercised nearly every day of my life; active play and sports during childhood, and more formal, structured exercise later. My exercises of preference are yoga, pilates, swimming/water aerobics, and aerobics, in that order. Running comes in dead last. I think it's because I associate it with how I used to run, when I was 40 pounds heavier and my diet didn't promote the energy needed for long, endurance runs and running was like trying to push my body through wet cement. But now I run and I feel light. Energized. Alive. And maybe I'm repressing memories from my short-lived long-distance running track career where I came in last, EVERY time.

Grace, agility, and speed are not things that I've been blessed with. I have to work very hard at it, and it's taken years of doing pilates, yoga, and aerobics to feel mostly comfortable and confident moving in my own skin.

So I've recommitted myself to running again, and since I have the summer off from teaching my pilates and aerobics classes, I have more time to dedicate to it. I'm training for a half-marathon that I will run in August with some family members, so for the next while, I'll be cataloging my training schedule as well as what I'm eating. It seems a little egocentric to think that anyone would care to know how much I'm running, what I'm doing for training, down to the mundane details of what I'm eating every day, but perhaps some of you out there are curious (as am I) about my progress. If nothing else, I feel I need to do it as motivation to keep doing it, if that makes sense.

Part of my training is to eat more optimally (I'm vegan), focusing on eating smaller portions more frequently (something I'm horrible at doing) and not eating any added sugars, besides fruit. Because if I, a recovering ice cream addict, with the natural runner's speed of a sloth, can train and run a half-marathon, so can you!

Let the running experiment begin.

WORKOUT TODAY: 6 mile run w/ Jory--1 1/2 loops. 1 mile walk. 10 minute strength training w/ resistance band. 1 1/2 hours total