"No pain, no gain"?...

...Then I'd better be gaining cause I've gone through the pain part.


I've been reminded these past few weeks at how sore a person can get when they start running again or are picking it up for the first time. You may have previously read how I took a little, okay a lot of time off of the running circuit (5 mo's) while we got this house built and so it really feels like I'm starting over. My back has been cranky, my abs are achin', my lungs are burning, and my thighs...oh my thighs - oucha! It can be discouraging. It's easy to see why someone would give up after a few tries. But alas I'm finally feeling strong. Just like when you hit the gym for the first time and lift weights, your gonna be sore the next day. It has taken about 3 weeks to strengthen my running muscles so that they are firing up again.

I've also had to remind myself to GO SLOW. I'm not even close to where I was at the end of last year. Even when my body wants to fall into a faster pace I hold myself back because I know I won't make it far. But if I'm a 1/2 mile away from home and I've got anything left in the tank I let it rip. So for a few blocks I feel like my old running self but not ANY sooner or I'll be my "new" self barfing in a ditch.

Moral of the story...

If you are giving this running thing a try, STICK WITH IT! It only gets better. Once your muscles get used to running and you build up some endurance then you'll feel much better. Personally I think this happens once you've conquered 4 miles. You just have to bear with it for a little while (and start SLOW) then you'll start to get the runner's high and maybe even find a new hobby that leaves you feeling great about yourself.

Also, it might help to make Ibuprofen (or another inflammation/pain reliever) your friend during the first few hard weeks...a couple hours AFTER you run. We've gotten pretty close. ;)