All in all, it's just another Brick in the Wall

No, it's not Pink Floyd day here at the blog,
it's a reference to my running adventures.

Yes, my running!  :)  My New Year's resolutions are still in tact!  and it's June.....

I've signed up for a 5K race on July 14th!  It's the Run Thru the Lavender 5K and Half Marathon at the Young Family Farm in Mona, Utah.  I will be running thru fragrant beautiful fields on dirt roads for 3.2 miles.

I had looked for a while to find the best race to sign up for.  I did not want one that was too big, too hilly or too soon.  I wanted to take my time and train properly and then when I finally do run the race, I did not want to feel like a sardine fighting for a spot.  The Run Thru the Lavender fit everything!

Signing up for a race has focused my running.  I had stalled out in terms of pushing myself, because I knew I wouldn't sign up for a race with less than a month notice, so I had basically kept myself at week 4 of my training regiment and had taken days off (running only 1 day a week sometimes, oops).  The deadline of July 14th has gotten me moving forward again....

and into the wall.

I had never really understood the 'wall' that runners had talked about since the beginning of time, until Thursday.  It literally felt like I had slammed into an invisible wall during my run.  I was cruising along, breathing nicely, shoulders relaxed and feeling groovy when it hit.  I like a newbie, started to walk, instead of slowing down my pace.

BIG MISTAKE.

Guess what happened on my next run on Saturday?  Yep, another wall at the exact same distance.  This time I did not stop running, I kept at it.  I remembered a quote that I saw on Pintrest --

Unless you throw up or faint, you don't stop.

I told myself that fainting was a little extreme, so I altered it a bit to light headed and since I was not I  kept running.
I asked myself if I was nauseated-- I was not, so I kept running.

Guess what happened....
I broke down that wall, brick by brick, and made my distance increase!!!
The wall did not last forever and once I made it thru it, I felt like I was just starting my run, full of energy and ready to go!
Progress was made and as a result,  I'm up to 2.8 miles and I have 6 weeks until my race!

Running has been more about the psychology than the physiology for me.  Pushing myself; learning what is real or what is me just wanting to give up; and most importantly, quieting that voice in my head that has all of those negative thoughts.  The ultimate benefit, it's carrying over to the rest of my life.  :)  Physically, I feel amazing!  My knees, which has been operated on 3 times (2 on the right, once on the left), have never bothered me.  My muscles are toning up and fat is leaving the building.  The most unexpected benefit, on days that I run, I sleep AMAZING!!!

So, I'll end it with this,
the next time you run into a 'wall'
try running thru it.

Melissa