Searching for My Spinach

I like this John Bingham . . . we're simpatico in many ways. Clearly he's a little older than I am (my TV families are the Brady Bunch and the Partridge Family - but the idea is the same), but I think we struggle in similar ways. I suppose most runners struggle in similar ways.

I, too, have searched for my spinach. I have taken supplements, tried different shoes, tried different energy bars, etc. Yet nothing takes the place of good, hard, honest training (and good training can certainly FEEL BAD sometimes). So my current search for spinach is actually a search for ways to keep my interest in training high and my pain as low as possible.

Yesterday, I purchased some Glucosamine/Chondrotin supplements. Okay, I KNOW it's not a magic pill (those you find at raves and cause you to hallucinate - and though there might be moments that sounds good during training, I think the crash would be literal as well as figurative). However, if used consistently, it has been proven to alleviate join pain. Don't worry, I understand pain is the body's signal something is wrong and it needs to be listened to, but some kinds of pain you understand to be training related and not dangerous. Joint pain is one of those and hopefully I have found some spinach for it.

As for keeping my intersest high - so far, so good. I have a committed and social training group. I have speed work starting in just a few short weeks. I am staying faithful to my hot yoga cross-training. I have friends and family who are interested in my progress and holding me accountable to it. Now if only I could do something to make my maintenance runs a little more fun.

I'm still debating retiring Zoe as my running partner, but I just haven't been able to do it! She has helped me through 5 previous training periods and it seems so strange to run without her. The problem isn't she won't go - it's just that she's really slowed down and considering I'm trying to IMPROVE my time, she isn't the smart choice. It's a cunundrum. She is the reason it has been easy to START the run, only now she's reason it's been hard to FINISH.

I think if I do retire her, changing up my course will make a big difference in keeping my interest. I could run along the waterfront or the Anacostia River Walk. I could run more mileage along the Mall. I could hit the Tidal Basin and Potomac Park. SIGH. I still think these are places Zoe would love to run . . . just not quickly.

Well, I will still search for THAT spinach and when I've found it I'll let you know. Until then, I just need to EAT my spinach and remind myself I'm no Popeye.