Holding Back

Everyone who knows me would tell you that holding back is not something I am capable of. Everything I do is with intensity, sometimes to the point of hurting myself or making others stressed out around me. I can't help it......I just like to attack.

Today, on our first organized practice session, I held back, for the first time. We were doing a timed exercise to establish a base for the season....sprinters would go one loop (~1.3 miles), those in shape would do 2, and Olympians would do 3. McTherapist told me to aim for 2 and then reassess for the 3rd depending on how my knees felt, making it clear that I was to go "EASY." Now, fast for me is slow for some people, but I'm a solid 9-minute miler.

We got seeded for speed this morning, and yours truly placed herself in the 11-minute mile group! (I know, shock and awe!) I ended up having a blast-- I chatted the entire time with some of my old pals, and we had a grand old time while everyone else sprinted along and nearly vomited at the end. We took 41 glorious minutes catching up on our lives, and my knees felt pretty darn good! We were accused of "sandbagging" our time, but you know what? So what! I keep a journal....I know I can run it faster. Heck, the last 1/4 mile I decided to run it in on my own and I found myself back to my comfy 9 min/mile pace. Hey, gotta at least finish with a little gusto.

Anyway, I'm back. I'm purposeful. I'm excited to try to train for April! I've got a lot of homework to keep these knees functioning, but I'm confident that I can do it. With these ladies, the next few months are bound to be a blast.

So holding back....isn't so unsatisfying after all. Because if I can get through the next few weeks, I should be ready to rock and roll and prove to myself that I can go much faster on those loops!