The fog is lifting...

After about three weeks of slight dizziness/head pressure after the Nike Half on 8/5/07, I was starting to feel a lot better. I had my eyes checked at the end of August and everything was normal. I think that put my mind at ease and allowed me to get a little more motivated to go running. I felt more comfortable on my runs and did not feel deflated or unmotivated to go outside (starting the last week in August/first week in September). I saw that my times during my weekday runs were getting a little faster than usual and I was feeling stronger and using less effort. It was nice to see that hopefully I was emerging out of my month and a half long funk. Towards the end of August, I ran a couple 4 or 5 mile runs on my own at 8;15 to 8:30 pace and I ran the six mile group run with a couple of friends on 9/6/07 at 8:30 pace. I know that I won't be able to keep these paces up all of the time (I usually run about 9 minute miles during group runs), but at least know that I am still capable of doing them.

Also, other than the Nike Half, I haven't run a NYRR race since June. I usually use them to gauge how I'm doing and I think I missed running them for a few months. So, I signed up for the Fitness 4 mile race and ran it this morning. I ended up running a 7:21 pace for a total time of 29:25. I felt very good throughout the whole race and was relieved that I kept a rather consistent pace and did not feel strained at any one point. As mentioned in the past, I have trouble pacing myself in races so I wanted to make sure that I didn't wear myself out. I had mile times of 7:31, 7:16, 7:29, and 7:07. Although these are quick for me, they felt controlled and I kept on telling myself to stay calm. I felt better during these miles than I did when I was running 9:45 pace at the end of the Nike Half. Even though this was only a four miler, it was a good confidence booster for me knowing that I can come back and run a quick time even after having a lot of trouble for a month or two before.

I have been getting back on the spinning horse, going back to regular classes over the last 3 or 4 weeks. I don't think that it is a coincidence that my body and mind have been feeling better lately at the same time that I have been going back to spinning classes. Also, I now have a new "before race" breakfast that has been working - peanut butter on a bagel and Gatorade. After I didn't eat enough before the Nike Half, I swore I would make myself eat a good breakfast before a race. Finally, I am switching from Chocolate Power Gels to Vanilla Power Gels. The chocolate just seems to be getting too thick and its hard to get it down during a race. The vanilla is a much thinner consistency and a lot easier to suck down on a race.

Take care.