Thursday, October 8, 2009

Crawling Back up the Hill

To recap, I had to take off from all exercise for August due to medical issues. Early in September, I was finally cleared to run again. My first run back was amazing....I was so happy to be out there again. Then reality hit.

Since then, I feel like I have been climbing back up a hill. It has taken me a while to feel like I am back in the groove again. My mileage hasn't been great, my runs have been slow (for the most part) and my body still feels a little out of whack. Before my forced running hiatus I was at the top of my game...I had just gotten a new PR in a 5K and was feeling awesome. Now...not so much.

But, I keep telling myself that I just need to keep it up and in time I will get back to where I was. But..I am not a patient person and am struggling a bit with it. My long run this past weekend was 5 miles, a far cry from the 10.5 I had been up to.

Here is what I figure. It is easy to cruise along, feeling great and having great workouts. It is a whole other ball game to feel like you have been pushed down a hill and are clawing your way back up to the top.

I was running along listening to my iPod the other day when Lonestar's "Mountain" came on and I completely identified with the lyrics.

There are times in life when you gotta crawl,
Lose your grip, trip an' fall
When you can't lean on no-one else:
That's when you find yourself
I've been around an' I've noticed that,
Walkin's easier when the road is flat
Them danged ol' heels'll get you every time
Yeah, the good Lord gave us mountains,
So we could learn how to climb

This world ain't fair,
It can knock you on your butt
You can just lie there, Or you can get back up
You gotta get back up

I'm gonna get back up...

12 comments:

Cheri said...

Sarah, Don't be so hard on yourself... you'll be back up to your game in no time. You know that you have done it and you can and will do it again.

FAITH and DETERMINATION you have both.

Heather said...

You'll get there, no worries! And you will probably surprise yourself with some new PR's too . . . all that hard work and struggling makes you tougher!

Bonnie said...

My DGS is a cross country runner and wrestler. Anyway he had some heart problems in July. They wouldn't let him run till about the second week in August. The coaches were leary so made him start back up slow. Last Saturday he finished 16th in conference and made varsity. The point is he is 15 and it took him about 2 months to get back to where he was in July. Hang in there. It will all come back.

Dustie said...

Girl - I feel you. It's been a rough week for me...this weekend is the marathon I SHOULD be running but injury wouldn't allow for. After rest, getting back out has been so hard. Short runs are hard! WTH?! So...i know how you feel. I want to get back too....i guess time...let me know if you want to chat about it. :)

Diana said...

I'm with you too Sarah. Unable to run consistently in August, gained 5#, feels like I'm starting over. Have a HM in February that I am training for and it's a slow go so far. Thanks for the inspiring words! We'll get there!

joyRuN said...

I know it's frustrating, but you WILL get there!

Winnston said...

Yep, it is tough. But you kow the old saying: "If it was easy, everyone would do it".

You know what it takes to get it done. You're going to get there!

Scratch and claw all the way to the top of that hill and don't let anything stop you!!

greentigress said...

I hate any sign of going lower or staying still ( I've stayed still a few months ) but half of the distance of your long runs is a really hard knock - I feel for you but Wow it will be so much fun and so quick to get back to it!!!

WendyBird said...

Been there, done that, came back even better :-) You will too!

Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

It always amazes me how fast you can "lose it." I'm kind of on a down time in my running, and I just have to remind myself what my purpose for running is or I get too hard on myself. You can do it - I'm cheering you on!

lifestudent said...

I actually didnt really appreciate running until after I had Brooke and had to work my way back into it. Sometimes when we find it challenging, we can also find it to be most rewarding. You'll get there ;)

Tanya said...

Patience is a virtue-it's also hard to attain (there's a joke in that statement somewhere, like I want some patience, NOW!) Anyway, it will all come back for you, it just takes time. And I love the new look of your blog!