Flex Friday!

It’s Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on Friday!!!  Let’s kick off today with a fun Flex Friday challenge:

Now mind you – this is only for people who want to burn some extra calories throughout the day!!!

Tomorrow is the FIRST 5k in my virtual 5k series that I actually get to run!  I am hoping after yesterday’s stroller run and this morning’s RPM class that my body is ready for this – or at least ready to break 29 minutes.  I seem to be stuck there.

Yesterday, I took M.T. out in the jogging stroller for a trail run on a pretty easy and flat trail that runs along Lake Sammamish.  I had him all bundled up so this time, his little hands and ears wouldn’t turn red from the cold wind.

I keep getting stuck on the first mile – my legs start off feeling incredibly heavy even though I warm up before I start.  Perhaps I’m not warming up long enough or maybe I need to do my runner’s yoga before I hit the trails?  In my defense, however, there was a killer headwind coming off of the lake and pushing the stroller in a headwind is not easy work.  My last two miles contained some sprint intervals which definitely helped pick up the pace a bit.

It’s frustrating to me that I’ve dropped in my average pacing from an 8 minute mile average to a 9 minute and so many seconds mile average, but I suppose after 9 weeks jailed in a walking boot, that’s to be expected.  I’m doing my best to be mindful of my body and patient and I know that speed will return but, it’s hard.  I suppose that hardness just comes from me expecting more from myself.

The goal for tomorrow is to run a 27 minute 5k.  That decision, a goal of 27 minutes, is hard for me to sit with since my 5k times in the past have been about 22-24 minutes.  It’s hard not to let that voice in my head pressure me into trying to aim for something faster but I know that will only result in my feeling like a failure when that feeling wouldn’t even be justified – that’s not even a realistic expectation right now and even worse, that would likely end up in a repeat injury.  You know, even though you see the message in a ton of fitness memes, you really don’t get to fully understand how important and difficult the mental toughness is that goes with being athletic until you really get up, get physical and experience it.  Willpower, patience, emotional self-care, they’re really important skills that take a lot of practice and even then, they’re still hard.  For everyone.  All that matters is that you listen to your body, accept your mistakes and learn from them, accept yourself and your body, let go, move on and keep trying.

Question for all my running friends or friends who do other athletic activities: what has been the most humbling experience or aspect of your journey so far? How have you embraced it and moved forward?

Tagged as: 5k, running, willpower