Back to the Beat

So Christmas break is over, and I'm back at Bloom now, which means the indoor track season has officially begun.

Our first meets was on Friday, and I raced the 3,000 and the 1600 leg of the DMR. My goal in the 3000 was to hit the PSAC qualifying mark of 10:48.10, and I was a wopping 40 seconds off with an 11:27. The race wasn't entirely bad, I put forth a decent effort I suppose, and it gives me a good starting point for the indoor season, and really the winter/spring season overall. I still think I have a shot at hitting the mark by the end of the season, but if not there's always outdoor, and that's the bigger deal anyway. I'll get there.

What I am most proud of from Friday is my 1600 leg of the DMR. Bloom had two DMR relays, and I was on the the B relay. We finished well behind the next to last team... but it didn't really matter anyway. I have no idea what my split was for my leg, but I feel that I ran a strong leg. It felt good to run something short and fast again. The mile was my main event in high school, and I loooved it, and I think I miss it quite a bit. How I am able to be proud of this leg, without even knowing what my time was, is based soulely on the courage I raced with. It's been a long time since I've raced that tough.

And it was because I was so relaxed for that race that I did so well. We run the DMR's just to give us a workout at the end of a meet, and the 1600 is no longer my main event, so there was really no pressure for this race and I had the opportunity to just go out and have fun. The day that I can finally approach my main events with the same attitude is the day I finally have my breakthrough. I'm getting closer to that, but I still get too uptight before races.

I may not have been thoroughly satisfied with my first meet on Friday, but it is amazing to finally feel like myself again when I race. I finally feel strong, and I will only get stronger, faster. Today I worked out at the rec center, and for some odd reason while I was on the eliptical, I had a flashback to 10 months ago when I was running for the first time again after a 4 1/2 month hiatus due to a bout with plantar faccitis. It was a 10 minute treadmill run, and I was nervous as hell. What if my heel was still going to hurt after that long of a break? What if 10 minutes of running felt like an hour? What if I was more out of shape than I even realized? How long would this road of recovery really be? Would I ever really get back to where I used to be? Luckily, that Sandstorm song came on over the speakers that my team loves and that relaxed me, and I just focused on that while I hopped on the treadmill and ran those 10 minutes. Today, I thought of that, and how far I've come in those 10 months. And only two months before that 10 minute treadmill jog, I had been thinking that I'd never be able to get back to running. No, I was not thrilled with Friday's 3000 performance, but I'm getting there.

"The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving."
Oliver Wendell Holmes

Friday was also the first day to see the team again. Oh what great relief that was. I mean, I loved training over break and having time on my own, but it's great being back with those girls. I missed them.

(The pic is of my girls. It's not a recent track pic though - from the first XC meet at Buffalo.)