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2 Races - One Weekend!

This past weekend was lots of fun. On Friday night, I pushed my son for the first time in his new racing chair. My daughter and I had pushed him in a borrowed one a few weeks back, but this was our first trip out in his own chair.

First off, it was hot, hot hot. (We won't do that again!!) It was actually too hot to be safe for either of us and if my friend hadn't helped I would have probably overdone it. Secondly, Chris' chair kept malfunctioning - I gotta make some adjustments for sure.

I knew I had to take it easy as the heat and I do not get along any more. My heart rate ran quite a bit higher than I am used to and it stayed up. It wouldn't come down to my "normal" even when walking - even though it really wasn't dangerously high. A lot of it was due to several factors:


  • I have not trained in the heat this year - only on the TM inside
  • I have not been eating right
  • I have not been training right
  • I've gained a little weight back
  • I had not practiced pushing the chair at all
Lesson learned. I have since gotten my act back together and am taking steps in the right direction once again. You know, I know this stuff - and I know what I need to do to maintain and to be able to continue enjoying the sport of running. Why is it so difficult? 

One problem I have in particular, is that I do a lot of emotional eating. Right now, I've adjusted my game plan so it's not an issue. Mornings start a lot earlier which means I got to bed earlier - and that alleviates the late night temptations. Also, I just flat don't keep anything in the house that I shouldn't have (except ice cream - but it's low sodium). 

My second race this weekend was a 10K early Saturday morning. I have not been training, as I mentioned before and what I have done has been on the treadmill. I didn't know how it would go - especially after such a rough 5K on Friday night. Turned out - we had a nice little cold front come through on Friday night and a rain storm So the weather was about as perfect as it can be during June in Oklahoma. But I still went out easy and just enjoyed a gentle run through the rolling hills.

My goal in doing the two races back to back was to sort of give myself a re-start. It's got me back in training mode and I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove. I have another 5K coming up this Saturday and I'm planning on pushing my son in this one too. 

It feels like I have to start over all the time. I get more frustrated with myself than with anything. But once again, I've come back to start and I'm ready to kick this thing. Plus, I have a cardiologist appointment next week and I want to be in good shape when I go. Gotta get the BP back down and keep it in a safer range, keep the salt under control. I have not felt well lately and I'm sure it's 99% because I haven't been sticking to the plan.

Deep breath... suck it up... adjust and proceed. I had a nice 4 mile run today and a 6 miler scheduled for tomorrow. I have to remember that literally everything - either helps or hinders my progress. I'm still moving - and I'm barely still winning. So for today - I just have to remember

Every step (in the right direction) is a victory!
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