Idaho

We headed to Idaho this weekend to hang with my Mama since my dad went to catch their year’s worth of salmon in British Columbia over the past few weeks. Just like in Oregon, I made a plan to keep on keeping on with the running and eating and general heathy choices. My Color Me Rad run is coming up in a week or two and, I have to say, it was a really smart idea to sign up for that. JUST to avoid humiliation, I have not let myself slip and stop training. While I know at this point I’m not so much training as maintaining, I feel this drive to just keep pushing. I want to run the whole thing and not walk- depending on my social obligations, of course. I think it will be important for me to keep a race or two in the future to keep me moving. Anyhow…

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(Are you seeing how much I’ve improved my bat wings with all the weight work?! It’s showing!!!!)
This is how I felt after my first run here in Idaho. We left later than I would have liked so we hit the road and the temp was already in the mid 70’s. By the time we got back from our run, the heat was in the upper 80’s, soaring on into the upper 90’s. The run failed to provide me with any shade and there were hills and hills and more hills. I panicked because I had no idea how to prepare myself for what I was running. I didn’t know if I needed to conserve energy for what might lie ahead. So I plugged through, plodded along grouchily, watching the hills fall away behind me knowing I would need to climb them again on the way back.

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My poor attitude passed on to my daughter after I stormily walked up one hill (after I had stopped for a moment and cried from being so overwhelmed).
But more than anything I was super tired from several stressful days of vacation prep, too little sleep and dissonance in my personal life (don’t worry, we’re back in the sweet spot). It just was a poor mix of all the things that make me stress out when I run.

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So…
Today we planned another run. Bradley was super sweet and created a run filled with running back and forth along the lake, keeping it nice and flat. But my legs FELT those hills all day yesterday. I know those hills were only making me stronger, so I asked to do it again. My goals were:
1. Stay positive!
2. Listen to my body. When my ribs compress and feel panicky, I need to stop and walk for a few seconds until the tension leaves.
3. Remember that after the biggest hill, the last mile of the run is all downhill.
Today I walked up the half of two big hills, but I ran the rest of the three miles! I kept smiling and had a great run. Happy is as happy does.
And really, how can you complain when you’re running here?

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Lastly, guess who is staying consistent in the 220’s? According to my parents ‘ scale I’m sitting between 226-228. This makes me ridiculously happy- I’m moments away from making 40 before 40. I want to cry with pride.
🙂