Running up the down escalator

My BFF blogged the other day about how she hasn't been training since the Tinkerbell Half Marathon and she was afraid it was going to be like starting all over again.  She said fitness is like trying to run up an escalator that's going down.  It's really hard and takes extra effort to make it to the top, and if you stop at all, you're right back at the bottom.  (http://focusingonmyfeet.blogspot.com/2015/06/fitness-is-escalator.html)  I really like this analogy but I don't think it's true.  I think that if you are dedicated enough to make it to the top, and you take a break from training due to injuries or whatever, you aren't starting at the bottom again.  You're only a couple steps back, not the whole escalator.  Your mind and body remember how to get to the top so you'll make it easier than you did the first time.  

After the Flying Wheels and my crazy trip to the ER, I saw a GI doctor before we left for Mexico.  He said he didn't think I had an ulcer.  His theory was that because I spent 100 miles on my bike (probably not drinking enough water), and got off and sneezed weird... that I tore muscle/nerve/scar tissue from my gallbladder surgery.  He said if you tear a nerve, it's really painful so that might explain what happened.  He said that he could run all sorts of tests to be sure but he wanted to get me out of "patient mode" and back into "athlete mode."  So he told me to go out for dinner that night and eat some spicy food and a margarita to test it out.  If that hurt, it might be an ulcer, if not... take it easy and I'd be totally fine for my trip.  So, doctors orders... we went out for Mexican food Thursday night and I ate the spiciest food I could tolerate and I was just fine.  We packed up and left the next night for an entire week in Playa Del Carmen.  I had good intentions and brought my running clothes, and some bike shorts.  I unpacked them and they sat in the closet the entire time.  

This was where you could find me pretty much all week...

Laying on the beach with a book and a drink!  Heaven.

In other news... I officially lost the toe nail I bruised from the Tinkerbell Half after getting a massage in Mexico and then walking down the beach.  Does that make me a legitimate runner now?  There's already a new toe nail growing underneath so it didn't hurt when it fell off.  It was so weird.

When we got back from Mexico, I brought back 3 lbs of nachos on my body somewhere so I told VK Sista' that we needed to go to the gym every day this week.  On Monday I did a 1 mile run warm up, and then she kicked Husband and I's butts on the weights.  Tuesday, same thing.  Wednesday she had a meeting at work so we had a break (Grateful since were super sore anyway).  And then last night was the Adventure Run.  I wasn't able to run the last two because of my cycling crashes so I was really excited I was actually able to go with the 11 minute pacer group this time.  It felt good to run a 5K even though there was a lot of stops and weird obstacles to get tickets.  So fun!  I brought my son again and he ran with us the whole time!  I won a pretty awesome gift basket with some amazing soaps and make up too!  

Me and my kiddo

Group selfie!!!

So, my cousin talked me into doing the Discovery Trail Half Marathon this weekend.  It's a paved trail along Long Beach.  I don't know if I'm ready since I haven't been on many runs in quite a while. But I'm really hoping my "couple steps back" theory for my fitness escalator rings true.