Dead Last.

Last night we were able to go to another Jazz game! Two weekends in a row! This time I had two dates!

The hubster

And my little sister, Jessica! –We had amazing seats.. its where the “real fans” sit ok?! And also provides amazing lighting for pictures. Obviously.

We had a great time and the Jazz won!!! After two heartbreaker games, it was good to finally get a “W”.


Time to get serious…

So starting today.. okay, tomorrow. I’m taking a break from the gym. (Shocker). After my long run last weekend, I felt okay after, and on Monday, I went out for a run and my hip was hurting. Tuesday, it hurt. Wednesday… double taught and it hurt. Thursday ran 2 miles.. hurt. Friday taught body attack- hurt. Its not excruciating, but it is not getting better. My coach recommended I take a break. OFF of everything for a while.

Do you know how hard this is going to be?! I can’t even remember the last time I took even a full week off!

I have a marathon coming up and I don’t feel prepared at all. Truth is, I wouldn’t be ready if I continued training right now anyway. My hip will never heal if I keep pushing it.  If I keep training it could lead to further injury and a even LONGER recovery with no races.

So, I’m doing it. Nothing.

Exercise is my stress reliever, its MY time for me. As a fitness instructor and in the midst of training for tris, relays and this marathon my days consisted of multiple workouts. Needless to say, this is NOT going to be easy. Actually, I think its going to be the hardest thing I have ever done.

Honestly, I can feel that my body needs it. I really do believe everyone needs to step back every once in awhile to give yourself a break. I just don’t like to admit it to myself. It will be for the best and hopefully this time off will be the right amount of time for my hip to heal.

I’m going to keep myself busy by marking off my to-do list around the house, possibly read a book and try some new things.  This will be interesting and I’m hoping to find out more about myself. (If that makes sense?)

After pump today, I had the most interesting conversation with a friend. (Hi Rach!). I was telling her about my hip issue and how I don’t think I will meet my goal time for the marathon and blah, de blah, blah, blah..
She brought up an interesting point. She asked me if I ever just thought about coming in dead last on a race. On purpose.

What? Race to finish last? Who does that.. A top athlete who is fast, who has had great times in the past. Start the race and make it your goal to just finish last. Ever thought about that one?

Well, think about it. With every race we sign up for, we train our little hearts out in hopes to PR or place. Have you ever thought about running the race and finishing last? Hang back and chill with the real champions. Talk with them and listen to their story. You may meet some of the most interesting people and it may just change your outlook on your own life. Maybe, they just lost a loved one, a cancer survivor, a war vet.

Think how many different people actually make it to that starting line. It doesn’t matter if they are obese, elderly, or of a different ethnicity. Every racer there has the same goal…. to finish. It is their motivation to finish that is different from everyone else.

Take your time at water stations, give someone a high five who looks just beat. Don’t look at the race as getting from point A to point B as fast as possible. Check out the scenery, meet people, enjoy the race for you. By the end of it you may actually feel like this.

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I think we come from a very competitive lifestyle. We want to be fast, we want to be the best. We can sometimes worry about how fast "so and so" is going to be, or we want to get a time that will impress someone later.

We often fall into a egotistical way of thought. We compare our times, our training, our successes to those around us. It honestly is kind of depressing don’t you think? For example: Sally ran 20 miles today and all I did was a measly 5. Why can’t I run as long as she did today?

I totally have a type A personality, to where I enjoy pushing myself to the limits. I LOVE getting a new PR and being proud of that accomplishment. I can ride on that high for weeks. Not once, have I ever thought about the people behind me. I am in every race to just get ahead of the people in front of me.

Why?

I don’t know either.--- How interesting would it be? How RELIEVING would it be to just not care about that and put that behind you and just run the race simply, for the experience.

The race will not define who YOU are. In fact your fitness level doesn’t define who you are as a person. It doesn’t mean your “healthier” then Sally or Bob or Sue if you came in first anyway.

Everyone has ups and downs in training, even in life. Things happen that will slow you down and then there are things that can propel you forward. How boring would it be to stick at the same level all the time. Make it interesting. Make it fun. Because, I think you learn the most at the bottom.
So with that being said. I’m still planning on running the marathon. Not competing. I’m not going to worry about splits or my pace. I’m going to run this race for me. Hopefully, pain free. I will do my best, but I’m sticking to my own story.

Source
Q. When running a race do you ever fall into comparison with friends, siblings etc. Ever thought about coming in dead last?