I choose Saturdays to be my longer run days just due to time. I am not in full training mode yet and just trying to get my body back in shape before my hard training runs start the 1st of May.

Like I said in my previous post, it has been over 6 months since I had run any distance. My first run at the end of December was a tough one. I did 2 miles and was at over 10 minutes a mile. The last time I ran a 10k, I was well under 9 minutes/mile so I knew I had a ways to go.

Dealing with Crohn’s and running can be tough and I get that. I made a few bad choices diet wise last week and may have paid for it a little on Friday and just wasn’t feeling it when I hit the track on Saturday morning. Even though I would be what is considered in ‘clinical remission,’ some foods just don’t agree with me. I knew I had to keep on going just due to the fact of taking a few days off this week due to travel for work. I HATE treadmills and have a hard time with them so I took a few days off.

I hit the indoor track at about 7am and was thinking in my head 6-7 miles when I started. It was a HARD 6 miles. I started hitting the wall at about 4 miles. I made a quick stop for a sip of water and kept on going. I hit mile 5 and could feel my stomach doing Crohn’s things and I just kept saying to myself, “I am not stopping. I WILL get 6 today. Nine and a half minutes to go!” Yes, I talk to myself when I run. I am my own coach.

Something I have learned over the years dealing with Crohn’s is you just keep on pushing through no matter the pain level or how you feel whether it is work related, kids event related, or physically related. It’s the cards that I was dealt and I deal with them and keep on tackling my daily goals. I got my 6 and called it a day with a time of 56:31 (9:25/mile pace) with negative splits on all of my miles. December 28 was my first run in over 6 months and I was at 10:04/mile so I will take it. Steps in the right direction and I know I will get back to where I was sooner than later.

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