Cherish Your Visions and Your Dreams

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements. (Napoleon Hill)

To the few nay sayers in my life - How can you ask me to reach lower instead of higher? How can you ask me to adjust my dreams to suit your vision of what my dreams should be? For the first time in my life I have a dream, a purpose, a burning desire. Do not take my dream from me because you no longer dream. Do not take my purpose from me because you can no longer find one for your life. Do not take my desire from me because you are afraid I may not succeed. I may not. “But in the end, I am more afraid of not trying than failing.” (JJJessee, runningahead.com).

Injuries, Injuries, Injuries - Just Fuel to the Fire

Let's see. What's the date? Oh yeah, about a month from my next event - my first 50k - and I've messed up my back again. Never fails. Never ever fails. I have yet to participate in any event (I call them "events" not "races") 100% healthy. Something always goes wrong a few weeks or a few days before. Injury, illness, bad blisters - you name it. Now it's my back again. And I was already in PT for a nagging knee problem. It's hell getting old, ain't it?

So I'm laying off the running for a few days in the hopes that things settle down. However, sitting at work all day doesn't help matters.

Speaking of the 50k - I've been overthinking the damn thing way too much. My friend, Karen, is started to get irritated with me, bless her little ole heart - which is 47 today!! Happy Birthday, my friend!

And speaking of PT - it's doing wonders for my lower half. Forget about steel - I'm getting buns of titanium! At 42 years of age, I'm looking better and am healthier than I've ever been in my life. Forget being in my 20s again - long live the 40s!!

Training for the Forest Park 50k in May began a couple of weeks ago with much intensity. My current schedule has me running 6 days a week with cardio and strength training thrown in, as well. Plus I started physical therapy two weeks ago to deal with what I thought was a hip flexor problem and turned out to be basically a whole lower half of the body problem. Who knew! My PT routine is a dog, but after only two weeks, I can already tell a difference. I am having problems with what I think is my sciatica (which I've had before), and will have to get that in check ASAP. Today, it's made my right leg feel weak and like it wants to buckle on almost every step.

Even though the run is still 5 weeks away, I am really getting nervous. Tons of thoughts running through my brain. I know I can complete this run. I know I can. But still, there are times when doubts start to cloud my mind. So I'm trying to do the whole "positive visualization" thing, seeing myself crossing the finish line, calling my husband and telling him "I did it!" Celebrating with my friend at the end. Just gotta keep it up, is all. :o)