Double G Knits

So Meg, how is that half-marathon training treating you?

Well, it's had it's ups and downs, that's for sure. The first time I did a ten-miler? Definite up. The calf pain I've been battling since January? Down. But, well, I have to say that I'm really glad I decided to do this. Unlike some of the other things I practice (my clarinet, for one), it's pretty easy to see real progress on a run. In January? Yeah. Ten miles on a Saturday morning seemed like a far distant goal, much less 13.1. Putting on the miles, getting out there when I'd rather be sitting down makes a difference. And, no, I'm not fast. Not at all. Especially recently. But I put in the miles. I get up at 6:30 on Saturday and put on my running clothes and go out in all kinds of weather (notably, one sub-zero run in February where I came back with my entire body covered in a layer of frost and my eyelashes caked in ice) and GET IT DONE.

I'm incredibly proud of that. I complain sometimes. I get frustrated, particularly when I get passed going and coming by my other team members. But I do it. When people ask me about my training, I tell them in minute detail about my last run, my latest theories and conclusions, and what hurts this week. They probably wish they hadn't asked. I can't help telling them, though. One thing I didn't count on in this whole training thing is how much non-running time I would spend thinking about running. First of all, getting really sweaty 5 days a week means lots of extra laundry. That's definitely not something I figured on. Mostly though, I'm hungry all the time. The nutrition thing is something I'm still working on. What it takes to fill me up without gaining a bunch of weight. What my body needs to refuel properly. What it needs to heal. What I need to eat before I go out to make sure I can even do 10 miles.

Tomorrow morning is my third 10-miler. I can hardly believe I did the first one. My legs? Tired, sore, but hanging in there. My iPod? Kicked the bucket a month ago. Couldn't take the heat. Metaphoric heat of course, since probably what it couldn't take was the cold. I keep going.