Pain Is Weakness Leaving The Body

My race season is totally now in full swing! I ran my first race of 2013 this past Sunday at the beautiful White Rock Lake, in Dallas and I couldn't of picked a better race to run. It was the Too Cold To Hold 5K/5M/10M run and thankfully, the name didn't live up to it's reputation. It was a nice warm February day (it was only 50F in the morning) and I welcomed it greatly! I ran the 5-mile run. Originally, I had planned to run with a friend, but she got injured, so I had to go at it solo.

 

I didn't do too much pre-race prep for this run. For the most part, January had been a pretty laid back running month for me. No carbo loading, no crazy training runs. On Sunday morning, I was comfortable and laid back. I actually even forgot my usual pre-race breakfast of a banana and peanut butter at home, so a few bites of Clif Bar samples at the race was going to have to suffice.

 

I hadn't been that long since my half marathon, but I had almost forgot how much I enjoyed the race atmosphere! The anticipation and excitement, the friendly people, the awesome race organizers and sponsors were all remarkable. I was looking really looking forward to this race. I had previously run a 5K here a few years ago and if the course was anything like that one, I wouldn't have a shortage of beautiful scenery to look at as I ran.

 

I did my some dynamic warm-up drills on my way to the start line. I was trying to make sure I was loose. I had hurt my knee the day before at the Cave doing some box jumps and my range of motion wasn't 100% and I was a little stiff. Some muscle tissue on the inside of my right knee was inflamed and I already knew I would be icing it after the race. As I await the start gun to go off, the adrenaline starts to surge through my body as the start time nears. I get my playlist going on my iPhone and next thing you know, we're off!

 

Now, for someone with a hurt knee, that first mile sure did fly by! I don't know if it was the excitement, lack of nervousness, or just something that comes with being a more experienced runner, but I ran that first mile the fastest ever - in only 10 minutes. Unfortunately, there was no way I could keep that pace up, so I made myself slow down. However, I was quite determined to almost completely run this race -- no walking allowed!

I stopped a total of only 4 times. Once was to take off my jacket at mile 2, which sucked up about a minute because it was hard to wiggle out of it and tie it securely around my waist. The other times I gave myself 3 15-second walk breaks. My knee started to bother me after mile 3, but when I stopped to walk, it actually hurt more -- so back to running it was! I mentally focused on the scenery around me and the path ahead, which helped me not notice my knee too much. For the moment, I pushed the pain out of my body -- and in return, I churned out my best running performance ever.

 

As I reached the last .10 mile of the run, jubilation coursed through my body as I see the clock at the finish line. Unlike my half marathon, where I was happy to see I was finished -- this time, it was because I managed to get through those 5 miles, in under an hour. I crossed at 57:14 at a pace of 11:27 - which for a tortoise like me, was my fastest race pace ever! I grab my post-race banana at the finish line area for racers and I immediately feel the stiffness in my knee. Breakfast and an ice bag was now in order! I am now taking a week off from any high impact running or plyometrics to let my knee heal and we'll go from there.

 

It's amazing what you can do, when you are mentally determined to do something. I have learned alot within the past year, just how much body conditioning you can do, but if your mind isn't mentally strong, you will always have limitations to what you can do. I'm building my mental strength everyday, along with my physical strength -- and I'm loving every minute of it. Happy running all!   

 

 

Cavemen? Oh, you mean THOSE guys?

So, for the most part I've talked about my running escapades and mentioned the Cave here and there through my blogs and thought I'd finally give you readers a clue as to what "the Cave" is. I started at API (short for Athletic Performance Inc) aka "the Cave" back at the end of April 2012. My friend Lacey had talked about getting her ass handed to her for a few weeks and I had grown slightly curious. She explained it as this bootcamp/military/MMA/weightlifting nightmare that hurts so good! haha! She had been attending the 6:30am class and invited me to join, the first few classes to check the place out where free -- so why not? Well, except for the fact that at the time, I completely loathed the thought of waking up before 10am.

I somehow managed to drag myself out of bed at 5:45am and arrive at API bleary eyed and a little intimidated. Rock music blaring, a huge skull and crossbones at the entrance of the building and all kinds of barbells and weights that I have NEVER even thought to pick up before. Needless to say, I was starting to wonder what I had gotten myself into. Brian, the morning trainer, is probably one of the friendliest people you could meet and so welcoming! My first workout consisted of these crazy pushup/row/squat/press things with dumbells (which I now know as manhaters), tireflips and a few other things that I can't remember. Let's just say, I thought it was insane! I could barely flip over the smallest tire that they had! I thought I was in shape, but this was something else! It was challenging, it was new...and I was hooked. It was awesome because everything was scaled for me as a beginner and was pushed to the limits of my ability at the moment, but not to where I was going to hurt myself. The next day, I was so sore, it hurt to try to sit down on the toilet!

Now -- it's always hard for me to explain Caveman workouts, because there is no real definition for it, no cookie cutter cutout. Alot of people would compare it to Crossfit, because we do alot of OLY lifting, plyometrics and the gym is setup similiar to a Crossfit box. We have a different workout everyday, but we don't call it a WOD. Most of our workouts aren't time based, but our workouts usually end up lasting up to 45 mins or an hour. Alot of what we do are basic, functional movements that can aid us in movements that we use normally in life. I can guarantee that sometime during your workout you will be bent over desperately trying to catch your breath and some workouts even literally on your knees, begging for mercy (which I've practically done, haha!). The atmosphere is supportive, all the members in most of the time slots are regulars so you get to know everyone pretty quickly if you are consistent and quite frankly, we've all become kind of a small family.

Almost a year later and I'm still getting in a solid 3 days a week at the Cave, some weeks maybe 4 days. That feeling is almost addictive! Some mornings I always second guess myself. I'll wake up and say, maybe I'll sleep in this morning -- but I'll drag myself out of bed anyways and I never regret that feeling of accomplishment and power after I'm done. I've come a long way in my short time there -- from barely being able to lift just the barebell alone to now lifting weights that I never even imagined before. I wish I had taken some before and after pictures to show how much muscle I've gained. I've lost 8 pounds -- which to alot of people isn't alot. I really didn't have that much to loose really in the first place, but I've gained so much more strength in the process. It's made me confident, more independent and basically I have days where I just feel like a boss! ;) If I miss a workout now, I'm kind of mad at myself for not going. My body is automatically waking me up at 6am anyways now, might as well go!

I highly suggest to every one out there to come join me at the Cave if you live in Tyler. There are also API's in Longview and in Austin. If you can't find something similiar to it, I suggest to check out a Crossfit box in your area. Going to the gym with the same workout routines can become so boring. The same dreadmill cardio, the same weight machines, over and over. How can you expect change in your body when you keep submitting yourself to the same thing repeatedly? I do a different workout that kicks my rear every time I step into that gym and I surprise myself EVERY TIME. Challenge yourself. Push yourself. You would be shocked at what you can be capable of. Don't be afraid of change and new things. Face them and crush them!