Back into it!!!

Coming up in a few days is one of my favorite times of the the year. Thanksgiving!!! It's not just about the food but also getting to go home and see all of my family. Even though we keep close by phone, email, Facebook and getting to see each other every few weeks I still miss them horribly. I especially miss my nephews. I would love to be closer and for them and my girls to grow up really close, but logistically it's not possible at the moment. Who knows if it will ever be, but that's what makes the holidays so special. For those of you reading this that are far away from your family, enjoy the time that you have with them.

On the running front things have been getting much better recently. I am finally back to being excited to run. For a while I was in a funk and couldn't shake it. I was getting out on the trails and road every day or two but it seemed more like a chore than a passion like it has been for the better part of 3 years. I haven't had anything to train for but I made my mind up to get ready for a race. I'm not going to tell which race just yet, but rest assured it is going to be awesome. Here's a little hint :)

A couple of weeks ago I decided that I needed to get back into things and looked through my past couple years of races. I know that I can keep improving I just have to do the work. With the cool, short days I am forced to do more indoors training than I would like but at least I have a nice treadmill that I can put a lot of miles on.

I did a few 6-8 mile runs that felt great. I had very little soreness and was trying to stay well hydrated as I think that is part of the reason for some bad runs lately. On Sunday I told my wife that I wanted to get a nice long run in which came with no objections as the girls were down for a nap. My intention was to go 10 and call it good. I put on one of my favorite 80's movies, Stripes, and just started running. I went with my Brooks Adrenaline ASR 8's to have a little cushion during the run. Everything just seemed to click. I took some food with me (trail mix, banana chips and a banana) and tried to follow a 300 calorie per hour philosophy. I didn't measure everything out but I'm pretty sure I was close on the number of calories that I took in. I felt really good.

Before I realized it my movie was over and I looked down at the timer on the treadmill that said "1:40" and 11 miles. WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED??? I literally zoned out for almost an hour and 40 minutes and I felt fine. At that moment I decided that I needed to keep going until I couldn't go anymore or it got too late. I paused the TM, put on "The Big Bang Theory" (another favorite) and just kept plugging away. I looked at the clock on the TV and decided at 2 hours 30 minutes I was going to stop as it was getting too late. I made a really good push at the end and finished with 16.3 miles. Not bad for not having run more than 10 in almost 5 months ;) I wasn't cramped, I wasn't tired, I was just very satisfied.

The next day I was anticipating waking up and not being able to move. I got out of bed and felt nothing. No aches or pains. It was almost like I hadn't run the day before. I went to work, sat all day, got home and thought I should probably take full advantage of the situation. I jumped back on the TM wearing my New Balance 101's for the first 2 miles and thought that I should do some barefoot training. Threw the shoes off and went for another 3 miles. I am finally back and it feels great.

Stay tuned for more info on my next race. I hope that you have a great holiday season and take full advantage of this time with family. Stay safe and have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Stay Strong, Run Long
Tha Messenjah