Random Thoughts From The Desert

It's been a few days since I had my epic running weekend and the farther I get away from it, the happier I am about it. Oh sure, it didn't all go according to plan and there were some low points but all in all, I think it went pretty well...running wise anyway. But isn't that all that counts? ;)

Random Thought #1
The one thing I am happiest about is that I am recovering extremely well from my long runs. I expected some soreness and some sluggishness on my runs this week but that never happened. My runs on Wednesday and Thursday were 2 of the best I've had since my bike accident back in October. I felt fluid and light. And happy. Just thinking about it right now makes me want to twirl in circles!

Random Thought #2
It's really hard on the ego to not "race" a race. You almost feel like you have to explain to others that you could run faster if you wanted to. But I was updating the side bars on my blog and my PR section reminded me that I have improved at all distances this year and that's not something to sneeze at. In fact, I reminded myself that 1 year ago, my Half Marathon PR was 2:14. I ran that on Sunday without a taper, after running a marathon the day before, in minimal shoes, and finished feeling I could do more instead of walking around in zombie mode like I did in that 1st 2:14 Half. THAT makes me very, very happy. One of my goals this year was to get stronger and I think I've accomplished that.

Random Thought #3
I feel like I got my 15 minutes of fame this week! In Part 1 of my weekend recap, I mentioned that I met the FatCyclist (@fatcyclist), right? Well, he mentioned me in his blog post about the race! In it he said "She’s also kind of an insane athletic powerhouse" which made me laugh because I don't think of myself like that. I just run. But it was cool to think that he thought so considering he's done Leadville and an Ironman and countless other endurance events. I have got to start giving myself more credit for what I do but honestly, it doesn't feel that special or extraordinary. I think anyone can do this. You just have to realize there are no limits to what we can do and build towards your goals.

Random Thought #4
#3 was about 7 1/2 minutes of the 15 minutes of fame I mentioned. The other half of that was when Joshua (@bayou) put my Part 1 recap on Run It Fast here. <--This made me feel really good because he puts up recaps from some incredible runners who've done amazing runs. It makes me feel legit to be in such cool company.

Random Thought #5
I was very disappointed that the Death Valley Trail Marathon was cancelled. I tried not to dwell on it since I couldn't change anything about that but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth. I picked up the shirt and bib at check-in but wasn't going to wear it. I thought I would give it to my niece for a sleep shirt. But after talking to my friends, they told me I should wear it since I did my own marathon anyway (I'm wearing it at work today - gotta love casual Fridays). That's why I decided to ask the race director to send me a medal too. They said they would and I'm really curious to see what it looks like.

Random Thought #6
I don't know if it's a good thing that I lost 3 pounds over the weekend. I've never lost weight before after a marathon. I also, um, should have been PMSing on Tuesday when I weighed myself and I usually GAIN 1-2 pounds during that time so I might have lost even more. I had wanted to lose 5-10 pounds by my 12 HR race but didn't expect to do most of it in one weekend. I think I might have finally broken through the plateau I was at. Or all the running I'm doing is really making a difference. Though I thought I had increased my calorie intake enough.

Random Thought #7
This is kind of off topic but it's something I've been thinking about since Friday...The old Lisa...she would never have introduced herself to Joshua when she saw him. She would have just left registration. And that's not because I didn't want to meet him. But because I would have felt like I didn't have anything to say. I'd have been too shy. Same thing with introducing myself to Fatty (on a side note - it sure was a good thing it was Fatty because if it hadn't been, he would have been insulted when I asked if he was Fatty!). There was some hesitation there in both instances still but I swallowed it down because the desire to meet them outweighed the "discomfort" of possible embarrassment or tongue-tiedness. I think that it will always be there, that shyness but the more I expose myself to meeting new people, the easier it gets. Running helps a lot with that because I'm always meeting people at races now and having fun doing it. :)

Random Thought #8
Totally off topic on this one too...I am totally loving what my body can do right now. I love how strong it is and how far it can take me and all the adventures I'm having because I run. But I do still have insecurities about how I look. When Joshua and I were walking into the cafe to our table, I saw a few women turn to look at him (sorry Josh if you're reading this, but you are kind of easy on the eyes! ;) ) and the first thought that entered my mind was "They are probably wondering what he's doing with me." Sigh. This makes me sad that I have still have thoughts like this even all this time after losing the weight. How the EFF do I get over that? Will I ever get that fat girl out of my head? It's not really about being thought of as beautiful either. It's more that I used to be embarrassed about how overweight I was and it kind of ate at my inside. But you know, I never feel insecure as a woman while I'm running or riding now so maybe it will eventually fade?

Random Thought #9
Let's end this on a positive note! I ran 41.47 miles (26.22 on Sat & a 2 mile warm up + 13.27 miles on Sun) in 2 days! I remember when I ran 40 miles in a WEEK and I was ecstatic. I did that in 2 DAYS! 2 Days! I feel like twirling again. :) <--And this is why I love running so much. I love the feeling of accomplishment I get from running. Knowing that I've worked my ass off to get stronger and go farther and faster and seeing the results is completely satisfying. It makes me feel alive and powerful. That's not something you can buy. Thank god I gave myself the gift of running. :)

So that's it. Just a few, mostly good, random thoughts that were triggered from my time in Death Valley and Las Vegas. Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend! I know I will since I'm doing a 20 miler on Saturday and a 10 miler on Sunday. :)