And then my heel (plantar fasciitis) showed its ugly face. I was sidelined for some three months. No running whatsoever. I was advised to let it heal by letting it rest, amongst other things. So that I did. I ran The Nashville Half Marathon on November 12th and the pain was so intense, I could hardly finish the race. Did not lace up a running shoe until February 1st, this year.
Started running slow pace and short distances. A few minutes at a time, a couple of times a week. Did not worry about pace; just wanted to run and run without pain. Everything was going just as I had hoped. Well, just as I had hoped and as my coach had hoped and as my doctor had hoped. Things were looking up.
As times passed, so did the miles and the time. I would venture into longer runs but still held it to just a couple of times per week. I was told to be patient.
And then came March 14th., the day I decided to let it all hang out. Did not hold back, did not look back! When it was all said and done the total mileage for that day was 4.3 miles at a 9.13 pace! Never had I gone that far, that fast. Ever!
Then on March 17th., the distance was 7.55 miles at a 9:47 pace. To say that I was happy is an understatement. That was followed this past Wednesday with a 4.45 mile run at 9:03 pace. I was in awe!
There are a couple of reasons why I believe this is taking place. First, during the winter months, while I was not able to run, I hit the gym. I worked on my core and I worked on my legs. I also read and learned a lot about nutrition. Which brings me to the second reason...
All the research I did on the subject made me realize that I needed to tweak my nutrition somewhat. I've been eating healthy for a long time, but still some changes needed to be made. In came the help of my nutrition coach, Jessica from FTP Coaching.
With her help I've been able to make some very important changes to what, and specially when, I eat in relation to my training blocks. Don't really want to get into specific details about this on this post mostly because I'm still trying to wrap my arms around this whole thing. All I can say is that it's made a difference!
I stay in pretty close contact with my tri coach Barry of Endurance Geeks, and so I asked him "where is this new found speed coming from?" he simply replied "strength, less frequent, more quality runs and nutrition." He went on to tell me to "Enjoy it."
Thanks Barry, I think I will!
So what have I learned from all this? Most, if not all limitations I had where put on myself, by myself. I had a perception of what I could do, and it was totally different from what I could "really" do. With a little hard work and determination, we can all break those self imposed barriers called "limitations". So what about yours? What barriers are you working on shattering through?
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