The Journey...

I know I have been neglecting one of the most important parts of this journey but I will be more diligent with sharing this part of training because it has been such a turning point for me and has brought many self-actualizing moments me. So here goes:
Saturday (4/4) was my first day back with TEAM at Wilson Ave. since March 16th. I had to leave the country for a family emergency and even though I took my gym shoes (as many good runners do), there was simply no running to be done under the Mexico sun. I was nervous to get back into it especially because I was supposed to run 10/6 miles!-yikes! I spoke with one of my coaches (shout out-Andy!) before hand to let him know that I was back and to communicate some of my fears and anxiety about getting back into it. He told me to listen to my body and not do 10 miles but ease back into running. Now I have to explain what is going on with the 10/6 miles. I was trying to see if I could train to run the full marathon as opposed to the 1/2. I have been going back and forth on this and I have decided to just do the 1/2 and do it well. I think making this decision will help me to focus better and train properly at my level.
NOW-- training. I arrived and it was so chilly but that is usual. If you are running outside, you should be a bit chilly because you will sweat a lot during your run. After a minute, I was greeted by Lourdes (she was originally my mentor but then i got a different one) anyway we always start our runs by sharing together in a moment that honors a patient honoree. Basically we dedicate our run to someone that is currently struggling with the disease or in memory of someone that passed away from the disease.
Then we were off.

I started running and it was okay. I felt myself breathing a bit hard but I kept the pace. We start at Wilson and Laskeshore and run south. After 10 minutes of running, Lourdes found me and checked in with me. I was ready to quit after the first minute. Getting back on the grind was a bit hard. We hit Belmont and it was time to make it back. On our way back there was a TEAM table(at this table fellow runners can find, water, Gatorade, sweets, power bars, etc.) I REALLY needed some quick acting snacks to get me fueled to help me get back to my starting point. We stopped drank, ate and stretched. Then it was time to get back on the horse and run it back.
NO!!!!!
Honestly, I think I was done one mile in but I was very thankful that I had such great support encouraging me and helping me finish. Lourdes and I ran back and even did the hill. I was first introduced to the hill by a fellow runner, Terin who was my support for running my first 5 miles( the most I have ever ran at one time about 4 weeks ago). Now that experience was my breakthrough!

(Terin and Lourdes-My support team!!!)

Terin taught me how to approach the hill. When you are running up the hill you have to lean into it(knees and elbows-mantra as you are running up) and when you are running down, after you do your Rocky dance at the top, you shift your weight back. Needless to say coming down is easier that running up.
We got back to FINISH!!!!


(That is me in the bright outerwear:)



I was so proud that I came out period. Let alone run 5 miles. When we usually get back we are welcomed by "treats". This week there were yummy delicacies including, get this, peanut butter and jelly pizza and macaroni and cheese pizza. One word: YUMMY! I will get the recipes and post them here because I had never seen anything like that and surprisingly they were both delicious.
Thanks to all that make these delicious treats for fellow runners. I will get back on track this week and follow my training schedule as it is supposed to be and hopefully next Saturday will be better.

Keep it real and Keep it going!