When your best isn’t good enough, it’s time to get creative!

I am a fan of the “Flylady” (www.flylady.net). At first glance it’s about de-cluttering your home and creating routines to keep it neat. Really, it’s more about de-cluttering our lives and setting up routines so that we can enjoy the things that are truly important. She has an e-group which sends reminders, all of which end with the phrase “You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are. O.K.?”

Think about that for a moment – what a liberating thought that truly is. Imagine if we gave ourselves permission in all areas of our lives to not beat ourselves up for where we are versus where we think we should be. Like our weight. Like our fitness. Don’t try to catch up, just jump in where you are. Own that phrase and watch your inner brat cringe and curl up into a ball!

I’ve been missing the discipline of a running program. Just getting out there wasn’t getting it for me because I wasn’t because I felt I lacked a purpose. My “best” hasn’t been good enough. Not being able to run while my husband was sick really de-railed my training plan for the June marathon. So I spent a couple of weeks whining about poor me and not getting out there. This weekend I got out there. Inner brat whined, but Inner Athlete just said “This time we’ll pick a run farther out, so that we’ll have some fluff in our routine. No more picking a run, counting back, and leaving no margin for error.”

Another flaw in my logic has been my expectations. The moment I cross the finish line of my first marathon, the angels will not sing, the remaining 15 pounds of lard will not fall magically off my a$$, and I will not look like “Buff Girl” at the gym in an instant. (Inner brat despises Buff Girl because she exists and uses air. I give Inner Brat a little leeway so I can keep her under control.) While it will be a great accomplishment, I have been building it up like some sort of holy Mecca of fitness - hanging my self of worth as an athlete on this one thing. Not good.

So, I have tentatively picked a run in November (yes, November). There are weeks of fluff built in, so if I need to take off for a vacation or illness that’s fine. I can always get to a point and hold there for a couple of weeks. It’s flexible. I looked at my running log, and looked at a marathon training plan, and tried to figure out where to jump back in. I picked an 11-12 mile run.

Like Gaul, yesterday’s run was divided into 3 parts. Since I was just looping around the neighborhood, I stopped at home at the 4 and 8 mile points for potty breaks. I had bought some cinnamon apple flavored Hammer Gel at the tri (YUM! I was using the wrong flavor all along!), which I used. I rolled out of bed at 5:30, had a power bar & half a glass of diet Pepsi, and headed out the door.

Miles 1 – 4 were excellent. Cool, still dark, quiet. Felt excellent. I stopped at the house & took off my t-shirt (I had on an aerobic top – jog bra thing that looks okay in public), had some gel, & headed back out.

Miles 5-8 weren’t too bad, except I had to pee for 7 and 8 (have I mentioned my bladder is the size of a peanut?). But still feeling good. More gel, & I was back out.

The last 3 miles it was getting warmer and more people were out. The birds were enjoying the worm “all you care to eat buffet” the rain had left on the pavement. I thought I hadn’t gotten a runner’s high, but then realized that this was my longest run in 4 weeks. The fact that I was still feeling good was awesome!

After the run, I had breakfast, a hot bath, and a nap. It took more out of me than I thought. It felt so good to be back out there. I did much much better with my eating over the weekend, I hit the gym Friday after work, and I am feeling much more like myself again.

I’m back!