“When you expect less, you get more”

 = my Yoda-esque wisdom for the day. 

(Also, can you believe I’ve never seen Star Wars? The Pilot is always teasing me about it. There are a lot of classic movies that have missed my radar.)

This morning I was off on a 10-mile run.  It’s not a personal distance record, and it wasn’t fast in the least, but here’s the most exciting thing about said run: I didn’t have any pain. As you guys know, I injured my knee (and heel, and back..) when I fell down the stairs in our house a while ago.

(grr)

I was training for a half marathon, had to drop out of the race, it sucked, and I took some time off to heal. After 12 weeks san running, the doc gave me the “ok” and I’ve slowly been adding mileage.

My last training run before my “half that wasn’t” was at Sabino Canyon, and my run quickly turned into a painful hobble. I ended up walking back, and the image of one day being able to run the canyon without a throbbing knee was what helped me from turning it into a pity party for one. That’s the thing: I knew I’d be fine eventually and chose to be thankful for that, instead of sad that I was temporarily injured. I was amazing to run the canyon this morning and enjoy the view and music, instead of worrying about my knee.

Since my slow and steady return to running, I’ve done a couple of things differently:

1) I started KT-taping my knee, and then eventually bought some CW-X pants which changed my life.

2) I changed my shoes. 

and

3) I changed my attitude.

I’ve been pretty low-key with my running lately, and it’s been just what I needed to get back into it. Without the pressure of group training, or to be fast, I was able to make my way back into the game slowly without doing too much too soon. I can do longer distance runs agains, and sometimes that means walking half of it, and sometimes it means running the entire thing, depending on how I’m feeling. I stopped asking for so much out of myself, and in return, I was able to give more. 

I noticed that with self-imposed pressure, I end up coming up short of my lofty expectations. By asking for less, and being patient, I was able to surpass my goal of being able to run 10 miles without pain.

Here’s my current pre-run fuel:

1/2 – 1 banana with Sun Butter 

 

and at mile 4 I have 3 of these guys:

and at mile 8, 3 more. 

And song I’m loving:

 

It’s been a nice combo so far 🙂

One of my favorite things about fitness is that you don’t have to stick to the same things. You can be fully devoted to one activity, or you can enjoy a little bit of everything. It’s just a matter of finding a combination you enjoy and are able to safely participate. The best exercise is the one you’ll do consistently.

For me right now it’s strength, HIIT, Zumba, yoga, running and barre 😉

Any fitness victories lately?! You’re doing such an awesome job with Winter Shape Up. This year’s challenge has been a blast. 

Have a lovely morning! 

xoxo

Gina