Races

Friday, January 24, 2014

Sources of Inspiration

I needed a good run today. Work has been pretty hectic and between a few different boats and islands for the past month. Last night I finally arrived back in Antigua where my duffel bag lives and it felt nice to be 'home'.

I ran a few times over the past week. I was on charter but I managed to squeeze in a run in Jost Van Dyke one morning. I ran over the hill to Great Harbor and later that afternoon I ran on Norman Island on what little road is left from an intentional development that fizzled out with the market crash. I left the BVI on a boat headed to St. Lucia. The wind direction is pretty far south at the moment and we were almost heading up wind the whole way. The trip took ~36 hours and we arrived into Rodney Bay early Monday morning. Tuesday morning I woke up early, still on delivery schedule I guess, and headed down the dock for a run. St. Lucia was where we finished the ARC and where my first run back was so awful. 12 days at sea is no good for the legs, remember. It felt good to be running the same road with strong legs. I ran out and back for 6 miles at an 8:57 pace. The next morning I woke up and ran the same course but with a slower pace of 9:30. I had been excited to go running when I went to bed and woke up well rested and ready to go. I headed down the road with my eye on my pace and just couldn't shake the slower pace. I couldn't figure out why I was so slow. I wasn't tired or sore. I was well hydrated and had eaten dinner the night before. My back was hurting again which may have been a factor. I decided to accept the slow pace and to tack on an extra mile to the run. If you can't build speed, build distance, I guess. The road I was on was really lovely and wound through some of the nicer neighborhoods in Rodney Bay. At the end I ran around the parking lot a couple of times to get a final distance of 7.5 miles. All in all the run was fun, just a little bit frustrating. That afternoon after work I flew to Antigua.

Back in Antigua I had a day off to sort through life-y things. I moved some money between accounts, checked in with some friends on Facebook and through email, and even joined Linkedin. I have been stewing over a job offer for a couple of weeks now and had to make a decision by the end of the day. For some reason I just couldn't decided what to do. I went back and forth and back and forth again. Take it, don't take it, take it....Don't take it. I decided to decided after my run. It was almost 4 when I finally got out the door thanks to my little sister's motivational speech. "You might find a sign on your run to tell you what to do." Good call, Jules. and just in case I didn't find a sign, I downloaded a new Rock My Run mix with super pop-y, up beat, happy songs (Thanks for the membership, Jules!). So with the fast beat tunes and Jules' encouragement, I headed up to Shirley Heights and I was headed there fast! I put on my Merrill's for the first time in awhile and felt light and free. Even though I was heading up hill my watch had me doing just over 8 minute miles! I was breath hard and sweating a lot! As I neared the top I felt myself slowing down. "Oh no, keep going, come on legs!" and just when I couldn't  seem to get back up to pace a yacht captain ran past me. "Come on, we're almost at the top." He said as he went by. and I thought "Yea! We are! And I have way more in my legs than I thought!" So I raced him to the top, swung around the taxi turnaround and flew back down the hill. I stopped off at my apartment, grabbed my backpack and headed to the beach for a sunset swim and cool down.
A great run and a great way to end a pensive day. I read in a book once to "ask nothing of your running and you will get plenty in return." I needed a good run after my slow pace in St. Lucia and my decision making day and I had a great one. I'm excited and ready to enter week 1 of my marathon training. This weekend marks 16 weeks until my birthday and my 30 mile run. YIKES! Good thing I have so many great sources of encouragement and inspiration; my sister, my iPod, fast super yacht captain guy and inspirational running book.
Here's my little inspirational thought; if you're hemming and hawing about going for a run, get out there and do it. I have never regretted going for a run but I have regretted my decision Not to go for run.



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