After spending half of the summer on injury reserve, I'm slowly coming back and adding back mileage cautiously. First two to three weeks had been sluggish. My legs had no spring, running uphill felt like hopping up and down on the same spot, and I just felt heavy. With each run, however, I'm gradually feeling like my old self again. Then, I remember. My muscles, my cardiovascular system, and my body in general need to re-learn and re-adapt to the heavy-lifting of running. They need to be strengthen again. It does get easier with practice...just like everything in life. Loving others takes practice. Extending kindness takes practice. Giving grace takes practice. As I am so thankful to be able to run and visit my favorite places again, I'm reminded that love also is a muscle; use it often. :)
“The secret of man is the secret of his responsibility.” -Václav Havel This weekend, I’ve learned that you can be both undertrained and overtrained. A few week ago, I signed up for the Eastern Divide 50k because I wanted a longer race in June as training. My last one was the Leatherwood 50k in April and I haven’t run longer than 20 miles since. I did, however, start training with the TriYon team again, which means adding back a bit of strength and speed work into my running. Hence, undertrained with less than ideal miles on my legs, but overtrained with tired muscles from workouts. That didn’t dampen the excitement of a weekend getaway at Mountain Lake in Pembroke, VA, though. A group of Salisbury runners rented a house at the Mountain Lake Lodge, where “Dirty Dancing” was filmed , and they welcomed me as a late add-on. Eastern Divide 50k is a point-to-point race that starts from the Cascade Falls in the Jefferson National Forest, up and down Butt Mountain, through for...
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