Good morning everyone (or, you know, the one reader I’d be lucky to have).
Today I woke up and the world just seemed to scream “REST DAY!”
I did not protest. Instead, I stayed in bed until the lovely hour of 8:15 then made myself get up so I could eat breakfast and actually be able to fall asleep at a decent hour tonight. I then proceeded to peruse the internet for the next few hours.
Lately I haven’t been spending too much time prancing around the streets and trails of CT in my sauconys.
Remember when I PR’d my 10K by 3+ minutes, held a 7:18 pace, and beat my dad to the finish by 1 net second? #missingmyspeed
At first I didn’t even miss running (shocker, I know). However, when I look at pictures of my “summer bucket list” runs, I can’t help but wish I was at least able to complete the occasional run without experiencing abnormal shin pain.
One of my bucket list runs.
I’m still loving the endurance athlete lifestyle, but I’ve made a pact to completely abstain from running until I am 100% sure I’m recovered from my injury.
It’s funny how other people associated me as a runner. Since I’ve stopped running (regularly), I’ve had people who lived along my normal routes ask why they don’t see me running by their homes anymore. Others will ask me how my running is going. I usually just casually say I’ve gotten into biking. I’m pretty sure they don’t understand, but that’s cool. Instead of looping my town, I’m off crossing state boarders and climbing mountains on my bike.
Exploring on the bike is so much better than running. Everyday I feel so lucky when I’m out riding. I see beautiful New England landscapes that the casual neighborhood runners don’t get to experience.
Most of the time I’m not taking pictures on my rides because I find it quite disruptive to pull my phone out of my saddle bag, but every so often when I’m on a solo ride, I’ll take it out during a Clif or Lara Bar break.
I should turn my recovery rides into “ride to the prettiest places and stop to take pictures every 2 miles” kind of rides.
Just for fun, here’s a few signs that I’ve stopped indentifying myself as a runner and now consider myself a cyclist:
1. I’ve merely skimmed the issues of Runner’s World that come in the mail. After my lack of excitement over the magazine, my mom finally suggests we cancel the subscription.
2. I frequently visit bicycling.com.
3. I dismiss the local running store’s emails about training tips and local events.
3. I paid $35 to join a local cycling club and now proudly wear the jersey.
4. I’ve already emailed the cycling club president at the college I’m going to next year and have stalked their facebook group for some time.
5. I felt more accomplished after successfully changing my first practice flat tire than I have after any ride or run.
6. I’ve looked up how my bike is going to fit into my college dorm room. It’s coming along.
7. I told my mom I’m bringing my bike on our two night “vacation” to NJ to visit family. I need to get a good ride in. It’s so fun to ride in different places. You see so much more than on foot.
8. I’ve searched endlessly for the perfect Saturday morning group ride in NJ to replace my normal shop ride.
Although these are just a few new behaviors of mine, it’s fun to see how a change in exercise routine can change my daily life.
This post isn’t meant to put running down. Truthfully I do miss it. I miss going out for 45 minutes and still getting a workout in. I miss not having to deal with mechanical issues. I miss the simplicity (and safeness) of running races. All these things I don’t find in biking.
Of course there are pros and cons to every sport and activity. Why choose just one? Let’s try 3!
Swim. Bike. Run.
I’m uber curious about triathlons. I could do three sports and not spend too much time on any one.
However, one of the reasons I think I’ve developed posterior tendonitis (shin splints) is because I’ve gained weight. I don’t believe I’ve gained weight from the occasional froyo visit or from the double desserts during my trip to France and Italy (though those definitely don’t help). I think I’ve gained the weight slowly as I started to increase my training volume.
Let’s take it back to summer of 2011.
I had just finished my first season of competitive running, my sophomore year of track. I was running more than I ever had (probably about 25 miles per week) and I was running faster than I ever had. I was about to go on a teen tour out west with 50 other teens whom I had never met. I was psyched, but it meant I’d be going 3 weeks without exercise and eating restaurant and hotel food…or so I thought.
I was at my lowest weight EVER on the trip. I was by no means small or skinny, but I was pretty healthy.
I ended up running with my new friends and working out in the gyms on top of the other activities we were doing, but I was still buying trail mix and chex mix at road stops and eating big portions of it while sitting on the bus, eating in chain restaurants, and eating dessert everyday. I tried to eat salads and veggie/turkey burgers most of the time, but overall I still don’t understand how I came home 1lb lighter. Can I just have this happen all the time please?
Then right when I came home, I decided to sign up for my first half marathon. I completed long training runs with my groups on Saturday mornings. I loved it, but I thought that because I ran 10 miles in the morning I could eat 4 slices of pizza, dessert, and anything else I wanted. Let me tell you, I was so WRONG. Long workouts DO NOT give you the ability to eat however much you want. You can have a treat once in awhile but you cannot gorge on foods because you worked out. That’s not beneficial at all.
I completed the half marathon during my first varsity cross country season while I managed to put on 10 lbs!! I was overcompensating for my workouts by eating way more than I needed. Watch as this theme comes up over and over again.
First half at 10 lbs heavier. I ran 1:52:11, but I thought I was going to have to race a XC 5K a few days later. Still a solid first half time.
I then maintained my weight for a while. I knew I’d be faster if I just dropped 10 lbs, but I never wanted to push myself like that.
Fast forward to the worst of it all. In January 2013 while running winter base mileage, I started having shin problems. I pulled back and cross trained for a few weeks, but the pain returned and got worse during my senior year of track.
At this point, I was running such low mileage that I was having a hard time maintaining my weight. I started to put on even more weight.
I reached my heaviest weight in the summer of 2013. I started biking high mileage, but again I increased my calorie intake even more. No amount of mileage could compensate for my eating. Although I was eating extremely healthy (95% of the time), I was eating such large quantities of food that my body managed to pack on the pounds.
Now I’ve realized what I’ve done. I feel fast on my bike because I know I have a good cardiovascular engine and I keep up with 20mph group rides just fine, but I’m learning to eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full.
My reward for losing weight will not be improved aesthetics, but the faster, stronger athlete I will become.
While some people’s weight loss incentives might be a new bikini or a trip to their favorite spa, mine will be my return to running.
At some points I thought I should just give running up for good and stick with cycling, but I shouldn’t have to choose. Rest, physical therapy, and icing all failed to improve my shins. I know weight loss will help bring my center of gravity back to the way it was before. I’ll put less strain on my body while gaining muscle to help me move faster.
Once I get to my normal weight and my shins heal, I’ll begin to run again. Until then, you can find me on my bike trying to get more Queen of the Mountain ranks on Strava and conquering the local group rides.
See you on the roads!
runningforsummer 