taking it easy

Today, I went out for a nice 4 mile run.  That might not seem like a big deal, since I know anyone who reads my blog and knows me KNOWS that this is nothing out of the ordinary.

But, to me, it was.  It was my first run in over a week.

OK, OK… I know, still not a big deal, but again, it is very rare that I EVER miss a run.  In fact, that last time I remember actually taking time COMPLETELY off from exercise was almost 2 years ago, when I had sinus surgery and followed doctor’s orders not to exercise.

So, to me, this run was a big deal.  Like I said with my marathon training, I have been listening to my body a lot more.  My stuffy nose, aching sinuses, and nagging cough was telling me that time off would be a good thing.  And a trip to urgent care for some antibiotics…

So, yes, today was my first run since last Monday, and it was glorious!  But, it also let me know my body has limits.  Just a few weeks ago, I talked about dropping my 5K time.  That goal has been put on hold for a little longer.  Not only do I believe my body won’t quite be ready for another sub-20 5K time, but I’ve also got things to do (which I will talk about at a later date) on the day of that scheduled race.

So, I’m taking it easy the next couple weeks and completely scrapped my training plan.  Now, I’ll be running to maintain my fitness (and weight over the holidays) and gearing up for a busy race schedule in the spring of 2011.  And believe me, the New Year has a lot of amazing stuff in store and I CAN’T WAIT!

(Plus, I’ll have a few more recipes to share as Christmas approaches.)