edges

I was called to do an "easy 5" today.
It just felt like I had to.
Hell, just the fact that I can say "easy 5" astounds me.
2 months ago 5 miles was a challenge.
I've also been really excited by my pace improvements in the 10+ miles,
and wanted to see what I could push out on a short run.
Starting out, things did not feel totally good.
My right hip felt a little loose. That's the challenge between acroyoga and running. Extreme flexibility is not necessarily an asset for a runner.

To my surprise, my quads also were just a bit generally sore. And my quads have not been sore even once since I started this training. Then I remembered: I busted out 60+ tight form pushups today. In tight form, your whole body is activated, maintaining rigidity from shoulders to ankles by tightening all your muscles at once, abs to butt to thighs to calves. And my thighs were feeling it. Kind of how the abs really feel it the next day when you do tight form pull-ups... ANYWAYS:

All this got me thinking about form again. And I did a truly joyous full out top form sprint down the big hill in Riverside. The pace charts don't show it, but I am positive I was cracking a 7 minute mile, and it felt SO GOOD!

Around 2/3rds way through the run I got really excited about maybe breaking into an 8:30ish pace zone. And really started to push it. That's when the shin splints hit. FUCK. Its OK, that's why we do this. To learn the limits. So I backed off and almost slowed to jogging pace. And then I'd get excited again. And then I'd push it again. And then the left shin would jank again. After 3 or 4 cycles of this, I took a hint, and went slow for all but the final 1/2 mile. Still beat a 9! :)

All this, and I finally understood what Melissa meant when she talked about 'connecting the muscles' We were doing aerial one day and she gestured from her forearm to her obliques, saying "you've got to connect all these muscles". Doing hollow body pushups, and then doing perfect form running, I feel the contraction, the tightness, the joy of my body as it grows stronger every day.