NOLA Week 1: WTF Am I Thinking?

Distance: 12.02 miles
Route: Clyde Fant
Time: 2 hrs 14 mins 47 secs

WTF am I thinking? Last week was 11 miles and I was so irritated by the end of the run that I just wanted to forget that I even ran it. I don't think I'm necessarily burned out by running, so much as all of the other stuff in my life. I decided that this week I would let it all go and just focus on freeing my mind and letting it wander.

It was cold. Not just cold, but Dear-Sweet-Baby-Jesus-Why-Are-You-Hating-On-Me-Please-Don't-Move-Us-To-A-Snowy-Climate-For-Our-Next-Assignment-Because-I-Will-Surely-Curl-Up-And-DIE kind of cold. Okay. Maybe that's just a smidge melodramatic. But it was cold. I had to trade in my signature Bubba Gump hat for a beanie. I started 30 minutes later, to try and let the sun thaw out the day a little. Didn't really do much of that, but I did have to finally wear sunglasses during a morning run.

It was a good run. I'd had a crappy nights' sleep the night before and I had a bad dream wherein I started the marathon and then at mile 2, I took a wrong turn and got lost. Because I went off-course, I was automatically tagged with a DNF and had to quit. I woke up and felt like it had actually happened. When I hit the trail, I kept thinking about the symbolism of that dream and why I had dreamt it. My previous marathon experience, while I am eternally grateful for it and for my friends that ran it with me, left me a little bruised and scar hard. I was burned out at the end and almost completely quit. I didn't want anything more. Now, 2 years later, I am loving it and loving the challenge. I'm grateful for the gentle nudge back into it and don't regret it at all.

So back to WTF Am I Thinking?? I drove on base the day before to look at the base trail. Initially, I was going to run that, so I wouldn't have to double back, but decided against it. Doubling back seemed a much more pleasant alternative. Granted, the base trail is quite lovely and is actually a great path (and long too). I think I have just have a negative association from the previous long runs that I am absolutely loathing the fact that I will be running it again. Most likely starting up this next weekend. There is a base running group that is also training for NOLA. They run on Saturdays and I tend to run on Sundays. I'm sure that I will join up with them at some point. I'm not an exciting person...I bore myself. :)

Jenn came and ran the last 5 miles with me, which I was very grateful for. I felt good at the end of this run, but I've noticed that I've become a lot more sore after these longer runs. I need to be more diligent about using my roller and stretching. I'll pick it up this week and see how much of a difference there is.

So, first official week of NOLA training is in the books. 11 more to go. I can do this.