Running Breaks are Weird

I understand the purpose of rest. I actually welcome rest when I know I need it. Despite knowing that, I think it's weird...and sometimes scary when you do it because of injury or pain. After the Veterans Marathon, I was in so much pain that I feared a long break might be necessary.  Selfishly, I wanted to meet my 2015 miles in 2015 goal and thought this was going to mess that up.

The halfway point at the Veterans Marathon. Amanda and I befriended Mark and we were named "Team Blue Shirt." Mark has run 45 marathons!!!

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I ended up taking five days off. By that, I mean I did absolutely nothing outside of my normal daily activity. No cross training, no lifting...NO NOTHIN'!! (double negative) I wish I could say I slept more, but I had many sleepless nights because jd3 was very sick.

 

I limped for about 2 1/2 days. Stairs were particularly difficult. It was also hard finding a decent sleep position that wouldn't bother my hip. My last uncomfortable night was probably Monday. I'm not sure if was my hip or the incredible pull out bed in James' hospital room. I just remember waking up on Tuesday and being able to walk and do stairs without any pain. It was slightly tender with stairs but at least I could do them reciprocally. After that, I knew that two more days of complete rest would be a good thing for my healing.

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Those two days were actually hard to get through. I had to convince myself that I wasn't ok to run just because I felt great walking. I was honestly scared to test it out. I ended up running after work on Friday. I told my self that I wouldn't run more than 4-5 miles if I felt good. I just didn't want to push it too hard.

 

It was very windy out that afternoon and I felt like a snail. I didn't want to pay too much attention to my pace but, rather, go by feel. I ended up doing very well! [8:44, 8:21, 8:23, 8:02, 3:55 for half mile] It was exciting to get out there and feel good running that pace.

 

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Fortunately, I was not feeling any fatigue the following morning and was able to tolerate an 8 miler, on the rolling hills of Dublin, averaging 8:31.
 

[Theresa, Karen, Me, Jackie] Best part of this run: Theresa checked the weather and it said 56 and rain. She showed up with shorts, tank, and a visor. She realized she was wrong when she saw us. She then realized she saw the weather for MEMPHIS, TN!!!

I started taking a different medication for my GERD (Prevacid). I definitely think it's better than the Zantac but I'm still getting these crappy symptoms in the morning. I didn't eat anything before this run yet felt like I had food stuck in my throat. I kept burping a lot when I would drink water. I felt very nauseous the last four miles of this run. I honestly don't know if it's a symptom of my GERD or something else. I felt fine when I finished and for the rest of the day. I really need to get this crap under control. I may go in for a follow up with my doc in the near future if it continues.

Where do I start? Jackie asked me to stretch her hip. Theresa was turned on by it so she took a pic. Once again, I'm being very professional and she's being a perv!!! Ha! I'd be lying if I denied sticking my butt out for her pic. ;)

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Tomorrow, I shall attempt 10 miles on the flattest land I can find! If all goes well, I'm hoping for an easy 6 miler on Tuesday and a Thanksgiving 5k on Thursday. Gotta keep this body in baby making shape!!!