Marathon Training : Week Two / Trust

Running Recap:

• Tuesday / 3 Miles / Interval Training 
• Wednesday / 5 Miles / Trail
• Thursday / Cross Train / Ecotrek  (note to self: WAY too intense for cross training without a rest day)
• Friday / 3 Miles / Easy
• Saturday / 9 Miles / Long Run  

Trust 

When I set the intention for this week's run, it was with the idea that I would pursue perfecting my posture as we were taught in the Good Form Running clinic.  The instructors showed us the proper forward lean needed to achieve the most efficient running technique, which involved leaning forward until we thought we were just about to topple over.  This takes trusting that your gut is going to be able to be strong enough to hold your body up without actually falling over while you're propelling yourself forward.  The forward posture helps land your foot under your hip, and therefore eliminate the heal-striking that plagues many runners.    

I never fancied myself a heal striker until I had the harrowing experience of watching myself run on film.  U-G-L-Y, my run ain't got no alibi, it's UGLY.  So I set out on my first run of the week, working on my potato chip hands  and adding in the lean.  About a mile in, I started getting a side stitch.  This is something that never happens to me.  The pain in between my ribs was almost unbearable, and I found myself sucking air while running what should have been comfortable, average pace.  Pushing through my intervals and all I can think is how much this GFR is really killing my run, and if this is really good form, then why is it hurting so much?!  Then a little voice inside my head recalled a sign in the hall way of my yoga studio that read "Trust in the process."  This mantra has carried me through some of the hardest times of my life, and gosh darn it, I am just going to keep trusting in this process of improving my running posture.

The interesting part about setting an intention for a week's training is all the other lessons that you find along the way.  A friend tagged me in a running quote about the trust that is found among runners that is unlike any other community.  You don't have to prove anything to other runners to be considered a runner.  It's inherent in the act of putting on a pair of running shoes and hitting the road less traveled.  The badge is earned instantly.  Manduka's Facebook page reminded me "Today we #practice trust - trust comes from love and commitment to yourself.  When nothing can shake you without your permission, trust flows freely.  Trust teaches us to appreciate the gift of being ourselves, and the gift of others being themselves too."  Okay, Manduka, I get it.  Don't judge the awful run, trust that it's going to take some time, and with commitment to the practice, it's going to work itself out.  But beyond that...as runners, we appreciate the gift of being ourselves, and wholeheartedly appreciate the gift of other runners being themselves.        

Week Three's Intention : Flexibility