Finally a new post!

So sorry to all who have been reading this blog, but life since Thanksgiving has been CRAZY!!!  But never fear this blogger is back!

Scout and Gracie are ready for the beach!

Since I last posted I have done a ton of reading, a lot of running, mild amounts of introspection (mostly while running), ramped up my mileage, changed my diet, and adopted a new training plan - really a whole new running philosophy.  You might now be wondering what inspired such a radical series of events, and I will tell you.  I want you to know that it was not a single moment that involved the clouds parting, the heavens opening with the angels singing on high, but rather a series of brief "Ah-hah!" moments.  These moments came slowly over time, through a series of relaxed runs with my dog and over a period of weeks during which I read one of my new favorite books: Born to Run. 

I heard it!  The collective sigh that followed just after you read the above title.  Oh no, you are thinking to yourself, she's another one of those crazies that thinks everyone should run without shoes!  I want to emphatically state that I do NOT believe anyone should run barefoot, in fact, as a medical professional I think that is a BAD PLAN (especially if you cannot remember the last time you got a tetanus shot!).  Please, for everyone's sake, keep your shoes on!  However, I do believe in the philosophy behind the book, that as bipedal animals we were born to run and that there is an inherent, visceral joy in running with abandon through the woods or along the shore.  In my months of anal, focused training leading up to the 2013 Marine Corps Marathon I forgot that.  I forgot all those good feelings running should bring.  I forgot how to run with abandon.  I forgot how to run with joy.

Someone in my life who never forgets that, who never runs without joy is my dog Scout.  Some of my most treasured moments are watching him run or running with him.  We went to the beach at the end of December and I would not trade those moments running on the beach with Scout for anything in the world.  I swear when we run, Scout is smiling!

So, Born to Run and my dog Scout lead me to part one of my slowly developing epiphany: run with joy.

My decision to increase the amount that I ran each week came after I read Hansons Marathon Method.  This training theory basically puts forth the idea that your weekly long run should not exceed about 30% of your total weekly mileage.  Compared to most other marathon training plans out there, this is a radical departure from classical thinking.  However, this training theory appealed to me because I noticed in my previous marathon training that the long runs took more and more out of me which demoralized me.  As I progressed through the training I expected to feel stronger, not weaker!  The super long runs in the later half of the marathon training program I followed previously also zapped a whole day (I am a very slow runner) and when you work half a day on Saturday that does not leave you with much of a weekend.  With the new training program, I still have time to enjoy my weekend and continue horseback riding (something that I had to give up in the peak of my MCM build-up).

Second part of slowly developing epiphany: I run with joy because I have time to enjoy other aspects of my life.

Lastly, I have altered my diet to include more veggies and beans and less animal protein and less animal fat.  The days that I adhere to this diet I have noticed my running is stronger and my recovery is faster compared to days when I revert to my old eating habits.

Third part of slowly developing epiphany: When I eat right, running feels good, and when running feels good it is easy to run with joy.  When I eat right, I recover faster which allows me to enjoy other aspects of my life with greater comfort.

And the proof is in the pudding!  I recently ran 10 miles on the greenway near my house.  I have run this same route at least half a dozen times before and never, never have I felt as strong and as confident as I did this last time.  I also shaved about 15 minutes off my personal best on this course - and I felt like I could have run 3 more miles!!!