There is a bike path near my parents house and that follows a creek.  About 7 minutes out from my house, the path splits and there is a dirt path that runs parallel to the bike path.

I know.  It’s freaking awesome.

On parts of it, you get some nice views of the mountains over the watermelon fields.

Run along this path for just over 3 miles, and you hit the beach.  10K round trip.

And if you split off 2 miles in, it takes you to the lemon groves.  Which go on for miles.

As I’ve mentioned before, it took me for.ev.er. to get back into running post-baby.  The weight, my joints, my work schedule, the exhaustion…it took a really long time.   Signing up for those two races (neither of which I actually did) was a good way to jump start my mileage, but I quickly realized that putting a race on the calendar didn’t fix the fact that I couldn’t run fast or as regularly as I used to.  And when I tried to force either, I usually ended up hurting something.

Over those months my goal completely shifted from hitting any sort of PR to feeling normal.  I just wanted to feel normal.

When I got back to CA, even though my days were pretty unstructured, I felt like I was drowning.  Paul was gone, the baby stopped sleeping through the night, and I had a lot of things to take care of and no idea where to start.  But I am very fortunate to have people in my life who made sure I had an hour every day to get out of the house for a run or swim.

And because I was so tired and there was so much other stuff going on, I could not care less about how fast I was going.  I just went, happy to have a short window where it was OK to put all of my other real responsibilities (finding a house, a job, daycare, insurance, taking care of the baby) on hold, listen to a podcast or let my mind just wander, without feeling guilty.

Then one day on a run I realized….it wasn’t that bad.  Without pushing at all, I was holding 9 min miles.  I can make quasi-decent bases in the pool.  My workouts are moderate in length and effort and I’m not in SUPER AMAZING shape, but I feel…normal.  And feeling normal feels wonderful.

When I stopped stressing about how far I was from where I used to be, or where I wanted to be, when I took the stress out of running, I made progress. For me it was just a matter of not pushing too hard and time.

To top it off, I actually look forward to that hour every day.  Heading out the door for my run doesn’t carry the same sense of dread it used to (maybe because anything is more appealing than writing another cover letter…)  When you’re an active person who is always looking to improve, it’s easy to forget how lucky you are to be able to go out and jog, or bike, or swim, or climb, or walk, or whatever it is you do, and just be healthy.

Hopefully soon I will want to wear my Garmin on my runs, be up for track workouts, and focus hitting a 1:45 half marathon.  But for now, being able to run and swim and feel normal is enough.  So I’m going to take a little time and just…enjoy.

sunset at the airport, the end of the bike path

It is impossible to get up with the alarm at 6am, after being up at 3am for an hour, so you can pump/feed/change diapers and get out door for a 6:45am run when it is freezing rain outside and you know it won’t really get light until 9am.   IMPOSSIBLE.

Update: It is now blizzarding outside.  There go the odds of my after work run coming to fruition.

I took this picture on our front stoop as I headed out on my run on Friday.  Should I be surprised that I got caught in a torrential downpour?  (I actually really like running in the rain, except it does a number on your shoes and any electronics you might be carrying…which is why I almost always run with a dog poop bag for my phone.  Also comes in handy for other types of emergencies.)

SO!  Week 2 of exercise is in the books.  Unfortunately, after my last run (“run”), which was 5 miles, I started to have a little bit of that old shin pain that has plagued me for years.  God…

And so, last night I decided it was time for a change, I was going to take advantage of this clean slate and be responsible about these injuries and stop them before they start.

First: Even though it’s not a crazy distance, a friend of mine made a good point that jumping from 3 to 5 miles in 2 weeks is a significant increase in mileage (percentage-wise).  I think she’s right.  So I am waiting a few days until I feel no pain at all before running again, and when I do start up we’re going back to shorter distances.  Build slower.

Second: I realized that my shoes, even though I didn’t run much the past 6 months, have quite a few miles on them.  Time for a new pair.  Ordered them on Zappos (but the older model…so much cheaper).

With those two decisions made i was feeling pretty productive.  So my new super-proactive self decided the next step would be to establish a cross training/strengthening routine to prevent further injury.  I have some exercises I’ve done in the past, but it was time for something new.

So I Googled “shin pain from running”, compiled info from different sites (mostly from Dr Jordan Metzl’s videos from Runners World), and put together a routine of butt/hip/core strengthening exercises.

With my list written out, I changed into my living room exercise outfit (booty shorts that no longer fit, a tank top with coffee stains that I can’t wear in public, and my slippers) and proceeded to do a modified (it was, after all, my first day) version of the exercises, including plyometric (that soon turned into non-plyometric) squats and lunges.  I did about 1/3 of the squats suggested with less reps and more rest.

ANDDD!  …today I can’t walk.  My legs kept randomly giving out on me as I made the bed this morning.  I didn’t eat lunch until 4 because the baby was in “I’m going to scream if you put me down” mode and was worried that I would fall over with her in my arms squatting to get something out of the fridge.  And forget sitting down.  Paul heard me fall onto the toilet in the other room and thought something horrible had happened.

So, yeah.