Less is more

First thing's first:

Couldn't go on without acknowledging today and what it means to us as Americans.

I need a haircut. I hate them, but I really need one, it’s out of control. I mean, check out that MANE:

Also why do I look like a giant in this pic from last weekend?

When it comes to haircuts, less is more. If you take off more than two inches, I’m probably going to snatch your scissors out of your hands and come at you. Kidding, but seriously.

I’ve actually been thinking about that concept a lot lately; less is more. I put it in the same category as quality versus quantity.

Once upon a time, I ran as much as I wanted, wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted to. I pounded the trails all over the city of Fort Collins, Colorado, finding dusty paths outside of city limits, and it was beautiful. A love affair with running, if you will. My body showed me grace for my 50+ mile weeks throughout the entire summer and fall of 2011, for whatever reason. Maybe it was the lack of a desk job, maybe it was the still-newness to running, I don’t know. But it was lovely.

Have I mentioned recently that I miss it?

Sidenote – for all of you  Colorado/mountain runners, do me a favor and never take that sh*t for granted. I would kill for quick access to dirt trails over pavement, and for my Garmin to be reading a couple thousand feet above altitude instead of negative numbers.  That’s right, my runs next to the harbor are literally BELOW sea level. Cool?

Clearly my running has changed since then, as I've collected enough injuries the past year for a family of six. So when it comes to marathon training, the quality of my runs are much more important than the quantity. The same concept actually goes for racing. If you didn’t pick up on it in my last post, I'm hyper-competitive. Possibly a bit too competitive when it comes to racing, but really I’m not sorry. I don't like doing things without reason behind it. I like to have intention, and I like to beat people and finish strongly.

What’s your point kait, get off your high-horse.

source

The point,  I guess, is that the Marine Corps Marathon is now 46 days away. I’m entering a high-mileage point in my training, and have 19 miles on the docket for this weekend. I’m a little nervous to see how my body responds, but I’m also starting to get excited as the race day is actually starting to become more of a reality.

Call me crazy, but unless I feel confident that I can run the race, enjoy it, and PR, I’m not sure I want to run 26.2 just for the heck of it. It goes back to the competitor in me – I want to do well, I don’t want to just run it to run it. I already know that I can complete a marathon, two of them actually. There’s a time and a place to try something just to try it, but marathons are no longer in that category for me. 

Quality over quantity. I try to do it on this blog – I don’t post just to post. I have slowly evolved to take this approach with my runs, with my work, with relationships in my life. Even with cupcakes.

vanilla almond cupcakes my coworker brought in today. so. good.

Just felt the need to share my current mindset; a weird little peek into my brain, if you will. Please don't misinterpret as me sternly declaring that there is not point in a leisurely run; I'm all for them, and still enjoy them. I just can't as much as I used to.

  

I’m off to a happy hour. Should be a perfect little outing to get over the hump this week!

Cheers!

K

that kind of run

It’s just been one of those weeks.

The 21 Day Sugar Detox probably isn’t really helping morale at this point, but I keep telling myself that I’ll feel better by the weekend.

Back to that later. Let’s talk about the positives so far this week:

My sister and mom sent me an awesome Under Armour care package full of fun accessories. I’m obsessed with the socks….

I’m pretty sure I just run better in brightly colored socks. Is anyone else with me?

My bike, Beth, came home on Tuesday after her weekend get-away at Joe’s Bike Shop. She got all aligned and greased up and is ready to tear up 8 miles with me this Sunday. It should be fun; I’m both nervous and excited since triathlons are so new and unknown to me.

I woke up yesterday and Wednesday was like ‘hey I’m going to beat the crap out of you and there isn’t much you can do about it.’

Well I did the one thing that I know always helps. I ran.

I drove straight to a nearby straight park after work, laced up my trusty Brooks, and darted onto the first trail that I saw.

It was a reckless kind of run. Do you ever have those? I could have given two licks about my pace, where I was going, if I knew how to get back. The trails were muddy due to recent rain – it even started raining while I was out there – and I loved it. Mother Earth splattered up my calves, and her humidity had me dripping by mile two. It was lovely.

I ended up on a trail I had never been on, in the middle of a prairie-like field overgrown with thorns and long grass. The brush scratched my shins as I tore through it, and I welcomed the slight stinging. White-tailed deer pranced away almost sooner than I could spot them, unwelcoming and unsure of my presence.

The trail opened up and spit me out next to the river, and the dirt quickly turned to sand underneath my feet. I stayed course for a while, before admitting myself that it was time to turn around. The path I chose back to my car was mainly uphill, and took my through several small streams. The runner in me told me to slow down and step over the water using the rocks, the child in my screamed to run straight through them. The child won, and the cool water splashed up to my knees. Needless to say, my shoes are still a little damp today.

I got back to my car tired and wet and panting yet feeling very much relieved. It had just been one of those days, but it had also been one of those runs. I was more tired than usual, perhaps to my body still adjusting to the lack of processed sugar.  But I still hold true to the idea that this cleanse will be worth it in the end.

That’s all I have for today. I would apologize for the weird descriptive rant that I just went on about a 6 mile run… but I won’t, because I liked it.

Physical therapy & Yoga on the docket for tonight. Hopefully an early bedtime for this girl, as the alarm was not kind to me this morning.

Cheers!