Running Free,Running Naked........

Now that I have your attention allow me to explain the lack of activity on the road/sidewalk and blog the past several weeks.
So I got sick after the Odyssey Half Marathon and picked up a Viral infection which screwed me for running,I also began to feel fatigued and after a few days of just not having the "get up and go" to get up and run I began to fear the worst and wonder if my Anemia had returned w/ a vengeance.
Eventually I scheduled a doctors appointment,under went a number of test including checking my right leg for blood clots due to the Varicose Veins that are quite pronounced on that calf.......all tests came back negative, a script for the Viral Infection  and the all clear to resume training.......cept now I was in the midst of my Orlando & Nashville road trips,and while I did pack my running gear for Orlando it just didn't happen,a lot of late nites and too fackin early mornings,the week of Harrison and Nashville I knew said cloth had been cut way too thin so I made up my mind the day after my return from Nashville it was the time honoured "shit or bust" w/ only seven weeks till the Philadelphia Rock & Roll Half Marathon and sixteen till the Philly Marathon.

I recall "back in the day" when Cher was a spokesperson for Ballys Health Club and in one of her commercials she said"there are a hundred excuses not to go to the gym,but at the end of the day that's all they are,excuses",I'd blown through all the excuses between July 8th my last abortive run that I never blogged and now Aug 1st, it was time to knuckle down.
And w/ that upon my return home from work I got out of my work clothes,into my running gear and out the door,no Garmin{hence the running naked quote....in case you were wondering what I meant!!!!!} this was NOT the run to be pissballing around w/ mile splits,pace or even how many calories I was burning off{sidebar I give a rats arse about the latter but it's a stat the Garmin throws up} this was a run to see if I'd gotten over my heavy breathing and heavy legs that had lead me to taking a "time out".

The game plan was an easy 5 miler Tuesday......and if that went well 6 miler Wednesday,7 miler Thursday,8 miler Saturday,10 miler Sunday.....but if I continued to encounter the issues that scuppered my runs in June & July I was well and truly bollocksed since the Anemia issue had been taken off the table and if I was still struggling now what???
Again early into the run my breathing felt laboured but thankfully my legs held up over 5 miles,the aborted 8 miler on July 8th saw me crap out at mile 4 so if this was a small victory it was none the less "one in the win column" and I could move forward.
Wednesdays 6 miler was more of the same,again my breathing felt laboured early on into the run but my legs bought into the "feet don't fail me now mantra" and another rung back up Jacob's Ladder had been climbed.

A funny thing thing happened on Thursday's run again I felt I was breathing heavy at the start of the run but somewhere along the Schuylkill footpath after the 2 mile mark I stopped noticing it,it reminded me of my formative years as a runner when I'd get a stitch,the more I thought about it the more it bothered me,if I stopped thinking about it it would eventually go away,ditto for the quote unquote "breathing issues"is it possible I created an issue out of nothing? oh trust me the Viral Infection was real,the nasty lime green/yellow shite I hacked off my lungs was real but maybe I imagined something w/ my breathing that wasn't really an issue,till now I've been blessed w/ good breathing while running,trust me I've had the misfortune to have"professional heavy breathers" behind me in race,I recall a 8 mile loop race in Scranton where the guy behind me sounded like he was making an obscene phone call his breathing was so heavy!!!!

Thursday marked the first.....but DEFINITELY not the last"it's a fuckin red light jerk off" at the junction of Woodlands Walk and University Avenue,between now and my last scheduled training run on Nov 12th I would bank on several more,I know I'm cute but that does not mean I wish to adorn the hood of someones car as a hood ornament!!!!
Felt good to be up early{8am} on Saturday and out the door by 9.15am to run,unlike during the week when I'd nixed my knee strenghtening exercises as I was eager to reestablish a routine I made sure they were done along w/ my achilles stretches,I don't need either of those issues derailing me now I'm back training
Sunday saw me back in double figure at 10 miles for the first time in a while,it felt good....but lets not get carried away,w/ six week to go I still need to get proficient over 13 miles to make a fair fist of the half marathon and then 15 weeks to get up to 26.2 shape but if this was about seeing if my body was on the same page as my spirit then yes this was a triumph.

A 5 day/36 mile week,fingers crossed this coming week I take advantage of a week off work to watch Worlds and clean "Chez Alfie" and also get out in the mid mornings to take care of some 12 milers.....and who knows maybe a 15 miler Saturday......watch this space!!!