Boldly running where I've never gone before

Trill is an M-class planet located in the Alpha Quadrant of the Milky Way galaxy.  It is home to two species of inhabitants:  the humanoid Trill and the non humanoid Trill Symbionts.  The Symbiont is a sentient vermiform creature which lives inside the body of the humanoid Trill host.  Being blessed with a longer lifespan, the Symbiont is transferred  from host to host as each life comes to a close.  Humans have been used as Symbiont hosts but may only do so temporarily because the species do not mesh well and the experience causes the human great physical harm.  Upon joining with a Symbiont, the new Trill host gains all the memories of every lifetime of the Symbiont.   Jadzia Dax from the Star Trek series Deep Space 9 was a Trill who carried the Dax Symbiont.  

I sometimes think of my “inner athlete” as somewhat of a Trill Symbiont:   an alien creature who dwells inside my body but is not actually me.  It is a being which may at times influence me but is just as likely to be suppressed and overruled by me.  Nontheless we depend upon one another for our mutual existence and will be conjoined for the rest of my earthly years.

2011 was a year in which I searched for guidance from without.  I worked with a personal trainer, attended sessions with a nutritionist, joined a marathon training group — all in an attempt to become a better athlete.  While each of these efforts enriched me and helped shape my athletic persona, they were not the miracle I was seeking and sometimes created as much confusion as improvement.  And they cost me a boatload of money at the same time.

This year, I am tapping back into the inner voice — the one which comes from my own virtual symbiont — and letting my inner athlete guide me the way it did before.  Having taken me from non-runner to half-marathon finisher within a 14-month span bestows credibility aplenty and makes it quite a worthy counsellor.  And it doesn’t look like a slimy overfed worm (nor charge an arm and a leg).

The first week into 2012’s athletic training went well.  After the post-marathon hiatus in the fall of 2011, it was nice to get back to a structured regimen in November.  I started out with mostly weight-lifting and stretching to regain the strength and flexibility that vanishes all-too-quickly after the age of 50 and would be needed for the snowshoe events I have pencilled in for January and February.

After Christmas, I wanted to resume running but found myself to have gotten slower than I would like to be and so I went back to basics:  namely the Couch to 5k program from which my life as a runner was begotten.  Instead of using it this go-round to learn to run, I have been applying it to regain my former speed.  Because it works on the treadmill as well as outdoors, it is quite suitable for the usual winter conditions one encounters here in Northern Illinois.  Simply being strong, flexible and able enough to do a snowshoe 5k is pretty much the goal of the present phase of training.

However in a very serendipitous turn of events, we have enjoyed quite a warm winter thus far and I’ve been able to stretch my legs a bit more than usual for the month of January.  In fact, I did 5 and 1/2 miles today of run/walk intervals under sunny skies in 51 degree air with just enough of a breeze to dry the sweat.  What a gift!

Workouts since the last post:

January 2 and 3   –   rested
January 4   –   30 minutes of run/walk intervals
January 5   –   long yoga session
January 6   –   homemade “snowshoe training” which I pieced together from some workout videos I edited with a DVD ripper program:  warm-up, vigorous step aerobics, compound weight lifting, more step, a core segment and a long stretch
January 7   –   30 minutes of run/walk intervals
January 8   –   Cathe Friedrich “Power Hour” DVD:  a killer weights workout, followed by a 2 mile brisk walk with my dogs
January 9   –   40 minutes of 2 minutes running/2 minute walking
January 10   –   on this blessed beautiful springlike day:
5 and 1/2 miles of  mostly walking and but maybe 1/3 running with five 30-second intervals of “hauling ass at top speed” in the last half-mile ( a huge confidence builder).

Gosh, I just want to pull that Symbiont out and kiss it!