Feet Move Forward

This weekend had two important milestones, the first being I successfully completed my longest training run in over a year- 17 miles! I ran with Brady, who was a doll and agreed to run with me at 6:30 on Sunday morning. I only had 45 minutes by the time I got home to get out the door for church but I knew I needed an ice bath, which bring me to my second milestone: my first ice bath in 2+ years!  Ice baths are like marathons in the way that you forget how much you hate them until you're actually doing it, at which point there's no turning back. But ice baths are said to speed recovery so they're kind of a necessary evil, IMO. Active.com says: The general theory behind this cold therapy is that the exposure to cold helps to combat the microtrauma (small tears) in muscle fibers and resultant soreness caused by intense or repetitive exercise. The ice bath is thought to constrict blood vessels, flush waste products and reduce swelling and tissue breakdown. Sub

I've just spent a ridiculous amount of time pouring over my training journals from the past few years. Back when I was running a 5k a good 30 seconds per mile faster than what I just ran. Back when I was comfortably running under eight minute miles. Back when I felt like a real runner. I know fitness takes time to come back. But here we are in August, nearly two years from when I was shoved from the running wagon (and my subsequent PE) . And I'm looking back thinking what the heck have I been doing? and feeling like I should be farther along. It's hard to keep going when results are slow and even harder to see, when all you have to go on is a feeling, and dreams of what could be. So rather than looking at paces or miles, I'm looking at progress: Runs are getting easier. I'm uninjured. I'm happy to be running. It's all reason enough to keep moving forward.

I may have forgotten to mention that I ran a 5k yesterday. My original 2013 race plans had me heading to my hometown for a 5k this weekend, but instead I went up to White Bear Lake to raise money for children's cancer research. Brady and I got up there early to register, and it was a good thing we did! There were tons of people wanting to register, and only a few people there to check us in. It was cold, too, and I found myself shivering while we waited in line, wishing I had brought a sweatshirt! Doesn't MN know it's August? via @ChildrensMN My goal for the race was to run hard and try to maintain an even effort. Story of my life, right? The race starts at Lifetime Fitness and runs around Birch Lake, staying mostly on the sidewalks. Brady and I ran a warm up to get a preview of the course which was really scenic and relatively flat. When it was time for the 5k to line up, we tried to position ourselves at the front so we wouldn't get stuck behind