“When does your season start?” my chiropractor asked.
“Ummm… last Sunday….” I answered.
“No, you’re triathlon season.”
“Oh. Mid-June.”
“You’re not ready. Your lungs might be ready, but your back is not ready. Your body isn’t ready.”
“I thought not,” I replied.

On Sunday I ran a half marathon, my first running race of my life (other than in junior high school when I ran a 1500m race). It was a great race, but I really wasn’t ready. I knew I wasn’t ready and I knew I wasn’t going to be ready, but I did it anyway. My time was just under 2:19, which was all right. I averaged 6.30 min/km… not a bad pace for not training.

Pros: I got to run on a really awesome course in perfect weather, I now know what it feels like to <i>just</i> run without swimming and biking first, and I got to see lots of people that I know from the running crowd.

Cons: I started hurting 8km into the race: my right IT-band and my left foot. That’s really all that was negative about the experience.

Where do I go from here: I am getting back on the yoga wagon – more stretching and holding stretches for longer. I’m also going to be doing some more running. I am definitely not ready for the half Ironman right now.

Tomorrow I have a two-hour massage to help work out some of the kinks. My chiro wants me to torture myself by massaging my IT-bands with a frozen water bottle (a good trick, but it’s going to hurt so much!). I go back on Friday. The race on June 15th is a local event that will be a good intro to the season. I’m taking it easy this week and then it’s back to the training next week. I wish my coach would send me my schedule.

Today I did some holiday baking and knew that I had to get out into the winter wonderland that I live in. So when I got my first reminder about Saskatoon’s 30th Marathon, I was reminded that I am going to do my first running race since I was in Junior High School. I have completed an Ironman, two half Ironmans, numerous other triathlons and duathlons, but I have never ran a long-distance running race. I decided after Ironman that 2008 was going to be my year to do that. My co-worker and I made a pact to do it train and inspire each other for this.

So I went out today and got in a good 40-minute run. I have to admit, though, that my feet weren’t necessarily happy about it. My form started slipping near the end and my back wasn’t as straight as it could have been and my pelvis was “tipping.” So my ankle protested with a slight ache that I took note of right away. I walked for a bit and stretched my ankles a bit. I was near the end of my run, but I wanted to see if fixing my form would quiet the ache and it did. So I ran the rest of the way home, focusing on my form and cooling down.

I have to say that I am very anxious to get back into the full swing of training, but I’m not quite sure that my body feels the same way my mind does. Easing back into it is the best way, but I’m just so excited about it. Luckily, I’m playing lots of guitar, practicing yoga, and developing my website. So I have lots of distractions, but I’m definitely feeling the itch.

So I put up a countdown on this page to remind me of how much time I have to train for the half marathon. A good plan is what I need. I’ll work on that to curb the itch of training.