My Running Break

After completing the Dopey Challenge in early January, I knew I needed to take a break from running. Although I love to run, I was getting severely burned out and just simply didn't have a desire to run any longer. In fact, after I hit the 20 mile training mark mid December (my highest long run before Dopey), I was over it all.

My plan was to take about 3 weeks off after Dopey from running to recover and rest. Several walks were take during that time period and then.....the flu hit.

Yuck. The flu. It totally zapped any and all of my energy and I couldn't even walk around the house for five minutes without getting incredibly short of breath and dizzy.

So, what happened the week after the flu? I had a wisdom tooth pulled...and was told I couldn't run for yet another week.

Let's be honest here - I was actually incredibly grateful for being "allowed" to continue my running break? Why? Because I just simply wasn't feeling it yet. I want to love and enjoy running, not feel as if it's a chore every time a planned run comes around.

Now, am I talking about lying around, watching TV on the couch all afternoon every afternoon? NO. That is definitely NOT in my DNA! These last five (ish) weeks have granted me so much time to spend with Brayden, helping him learn and grow and watching him explore new things! We've spent a lot of time at various parks and simply just enjoyed being together. These precious early years aren't here forever and I am definitely taking time to cherish them while I can.

Also, in the middle of all of this, I've started physical therapy for an issue I've been having (not running related) and my therapist thinks she can also help my IT Band in the mean time!! After a thorough exam from head to toe, she's discovered that my body is ALL out of whack with alignment and it's pretty much a hot mess. We shall see what the next eight or so weeks have to bring!
 

So, enter this past Saturday - my first run (period) since Dopey! Although it was foggy and overcast, the temps were perfect and reminded me that spring is definitely on the way! I have the Rock n Roll New Orleans half in two weeks and I knew I needed to do something.

I initially started out with the idea of running 5 miles and if all was going ok, I'd increase to 6 miles. Well (to my surprise) I felt great the entire way and decided to tack on that extra mile at the end. Throughout the run, I walked for about 2 minutes after hitting each new mile (just like I did with long run training for Dopey) and it worked great!

My plan was to finish the run around 1:10, so when I saw how close I was to actually reaching it, I kicked it up a notch to finish just under!

Saturday's run felt great, I felt good, and it was an overall enjoyable run...just what I needed to rejuvenate my heart and mind for this running thing I love so much!

If you've ever taken a break from