First Run of the Year

I just finished my first run of 2010. It was 2.5 miles on dark, icy streets and 15 degrees...and I loved every minute of it!

Just before Christmas, I dropped a ski on my foot and sprained it so badly I was on painkillers and limping around for 3 weeks! What a way to start the new year. A week in sunny Florida with workouts restricted to the exercise room and March marathon plans down the toilet.

But even though I was a grouchy little ball of fire for the first few days, I have to say that I've developed a new outlook on exercise during this cross training period. Perhaps it was my sister's influence (I got to spend a lot of time with her in Florida, and was inspired by her training at the gym: she performs exercises on nautilus machines and bosu balls as if she is in some sort of professional exercise video....her form is flawless!)...or, perhaps it was studying for my personal trainer course. Whatever the reason, I've started to think not only about "performance", but overall fitness for health and well-being.

As an athlete, I've always been guilty of doing whatever exercise I think will get me stronger and faster without respecting my body's internal signals or thinking about long term impact on health. I will run 80 miles a week but have "no time" to stretch. I will squeeze in an extra 1/2 workout after dinner but sacrifice a much needed half hour of sleep. But over the past three weeks, instead of thinking what workouts would make me fastest at running once I got back on the roads, I chose my workouts based on how my body felt. Some days my body wanted to do yoga. Other days it wanted to row fast or bike for a long, steady hour or two. And last Sunday, it asked me nicely to lie on the couch all day. So I did. And I'm feeling better than ever.

There are 4 Components to overall physical fitness: Cardiovascular Fitness, Muscular Fitness (muscular endurance and muscle strength), flexibility, and body composition. I think I am feeling so good lately because I have been paying attention to the four components of physical fitness by working a variety of muscle groups through different activities, paying more attention to strengthening and stretching as well as number of hours spent logging miles, and have been fueling and resting my body to provide for optimal body composition.

I am feeliong quite content with my current outlook and habits, and was absolutely ecstatic to get out on the road and run for a little whole this evening. I love to run. I love the way it feels. I love how sharp my mind is afterwards. I love the conversations I have with myself or others on runs. But I am willing to be patient with it this time. I WILL race a marathon this year. It won't be in March, but it will happen in 2010. I have the feeling I will approach it a little differently this time, with a little more respect for my body.

No matter what your goals are (performance or simply a long healthy life), try to remember how important it is to listen to your internal cues, and make sure to incorporate some (even if it is just a few minutes a couple days a week) of each of the four components of physical fitness in your training program each week. Your body will thank you :-)