The core of the issue

I have had two days to recover from my run on Sunday, and nothing is broken, bent or in poor working order. Victory!! ( Aside from the time yesterday where my butt felt like it was filled with lead).

Running has not really turned out to be what I thought it would be, in several ways. The obvious surprise was the level of difficulty I have had to contend with in my training so far. I feel that I could run a month of steady 3k runs and STILL not pick up speed or endurance, but I know rationally that things are already starting to come along. I ran my 3k inside on the treadmill today as mother nature once again decided to thwart me with a rain/hail storm. I was able to run the full distance without stopping today, though I am unsure if that is due to any personal improvement or the indoor conditions. There was the nice bonus of being less ' red in the face' today, though I was much more sweaty ( I just can't win...I seem to either end up looking terrible or smelling terrible). Thursday will prove to be a more accurate assessment of any potentially gained ' endurance'.

Another surprise from this endeavor, has been the variety of activities that I have had to engage in just to be better prepared for the half-marathon. On the days that I run, I have to stretch afterwards but also work on my core muscles and overall physical fitness. When I have an alternate activity I do the same stretching but engage more heavily in free weights and muscle-building activity ( since I don't have a gym membership, this means using my own body weight to build muscle as best I can). This work is hard! SURPRISE , SURPRISE! I was sitting with my boyfriend today and leaned ever so slightly to the side when I felt distinct muscle pain. I say to him "my side thingies hurt... it hurts just to breathe!" and he just looks and me and says ' oh , your obliques. ' .... '' oh my obliques''??? I was wondering why on earth my 'side thingies' were so sore. In the past (as little as three weeks ago) muscle pain was reserved for long hours of travel, random attacks of clumsiness or freak accidents. I have never 'felt' my muscles more that in the last few weeks. Crunches, plank and core-strengthening exorcises sure seem to hit me hard. I really never thought of all the muscle toning and strengthening I'd have to undergo just to be able to run! Who says that you need good abs or any at all to run anyways?? Well...aside from every notable runner or reliable source of information that is....hmmm.

According to my friends, this muscle soreness will eventually pass and that right now it serves as an indicator of how much I'm really doing to strengthen my body. I guess that's a good thing...and I'll take what I can get. If that means that the next few weeks will be filled with painful breathing, movement and general 'getting about', I can accept that. I sure wish they made oblique sized ice packs though :p . OH..ha ha...for those of you unaware of which muscles I am speaking of, they are the muscles that line the sides of your 'rib cage' or that general area (an area not commonly used by a couch potato). I tell you...being a couch potato was such a comfortable life...the only muscle pain i ever felt then was a sore back from sitting on my ass all day flipping channels.
Sigh...that was the life ;)