A Blessing and a Curse
Yesterday, I headed out to the trails in search of kicking my own butt (and cranking out 10 or so miles).
Within the first two miles, I found myself at the top of one climb, walking and my legs shaking and not sure that this run would go much further. I'm not sure if my body was just tired from the week or still asleep, but I knew it could do more.
So I pressed on hoping to get to 5 miles and reassess then. As runs usually go, I ended up feeling okay and continued to run along the Ridgeline Trail, up and over Mt. Baldy and back again and then along the trail in the other direction.
I fueled with nuun water and some 'lemon sublime' Gu around mile 7. Let me tell you, in cold weather, this gu tasted like a congealed otter pop...interesting. The weather was perfect - 40s, but sunny and patches of fog.
While there are many people in Eugene who are up for trail runs, the ones I know are either slower or faster than myself by a decent amount. Thus, I am left to brave the trails alone.
But as I was lamenting over this yesterday, I realized it's also a blessing because it allows me to spend time with my thoughts and discover that I am strong enough to get through anything, whether it be a rough hill or a few sucky miles.
AND I can walk when I feel like it - and I did - up a few hills and down a hill when my knee ached.
Within the first two miles, I found myself at the top of one climb, walking and my legs shaking and not sure that this run would go much further. I'm not sure if my body was just tired from the week or still asleep, but I knew it could do more.
So I pressed on hoping to get to 5 miles and reassess then. As runs usually go, I ended up feeling okay and continued to run along the Ridgeline Trail, up and over Mt. Baldy and back again and then along the trail in the other direction.
I fueled with nuun water and some 'lemon sublime' Gu around mile 7. Let me tell you, in cold weather, this gu tasted like a congealed otter pop...interesting. The weather was perfect - 40s, but sunny and patches of fog.
While there are many people in Eugene who are up for trail runs, the ones I know are either slower or faster than myself by a decent amount. Thus, I am left to brave the trails alone.
But as I was lamenting over this yesterday, I realized it's also a blessing because it allows me to spend time with my thoughts and discover that I am strong enough to get through anything, whether it be a rough hill or a few sucky miles.
AND I can walk when I feel like it - and I did - up a few hills and down a hill when my knee ached.
So after a few decent runs this weekend, I'm feeling a little better about this trail race. It's funny how quickly that can happen. Now I just need to keep up the trail running for at least another month and hope the trails stay semi-dry. Ha!
Is there something in your life you've realized recently is both a curse and a blessing?
When I first started running with one of the local groups, I thought "Ugh, no one runs my pace. I'm always going to run alone." But eventually, I figured it out. Some group runs I have to run a little speedier, some days a little slower and some days I just opt to run alone.
Hope you had a rejuvenating weekend!
Comments
I have not been on the whole ridgeline system, but love the views up Spencer's Butte.
I think working with all men is a blessing and a curse for me. The blessing is that they are direct with communication and there are no clicks or drama, etc. The curse is that sometimes i get tired of being the only girl. Like on Thursday night, there were 10 of us in our group - and I was the only girl. And sometimes it doesn't matter, but sometimes I wish I had another female on my team...
I think my injury last year was a curse and a blessing. It was so frustrating to be injured for so long. But it resulted in me starting to do triathlons!
That trail looks gorgeous! You're motivating me to look for more trail-running opportunities. They are all around me, just haven't taken advantage yet!