After having such a blast at the 12K Summer Roundup, I took heed to one of my previous blogs and allowed myself to recover appropriately. It was about ten (10) days with no physical activity because of illness. I did not panic knowing the Pikes Peak Accent was five (5) weeks away at that time. So on my first day back after suffering from those bad allergies I told myself "Just Build Your Base!".

My goal was to run the stairs at my place of work on Schriever AFB. Stair running has been part of my training all year in preparations to improve my hill running performances for the Triple Crown of Running Series events as well as my overall fitness. I set out to do fifteen (15) round trips similar to a six (6) story building. Mind you my training log shows it takes about twenty-five (25) minutes to complete that workout. As I got to four (4) the pain was too much to bear. My lungs and legs were not ready for that intensity on the first day back….not to mention I was going easy or at least I thought I was what was I thinking?

I was able to get through the pain and complete ten (10) flights. Over the years I have learned when and WHEN NOT to “Dig Deep”, “Man-Up”, “Ignore the Pain”, or “Just Push It”…..pain is not always “just pain” you can hurt yourself and miss making it to the starting line for your next big race. As athletes we must learn to embrace the fact that it is ok to stop, fold up shop and hit the showers. Don’t get me wrong there is that time when that pain is so loved….that good pain, the type of pain that makes you say "if I keep this up I’m going to see great improvements" type of pain. I was patient enough to rest and do another set of ten (10) two days later, then rest again for my weekend workouts.

The weekend was here! I was so excited to get back on the Manitou Springs Incline. Saturday morning 6:00 a.m, there I was. Had my plan, pace, game face…. and was so ready to meet “Mr. Pain”. He loved me as I was a faithful Incliner and was glad to see me back. As “Mr. Pain” sat in his comfy recliner, he sipped on his Starbuck’s latte and viewed his Facebook page from his mobile device. Thousands of Incliners came and went. Elites, first timers, young, old, timid, brave, diverse ethnicities, cultures and races. “Mr. Pain” did not discriminate he gladly provided each incliner with an equal amount of pain. For some reason it seemed like “Mr. Pain” handed me an extra dose of pain as I reached the bailout point and man was I tempted to bail!

Finally I reached the top and was so happy. I usually don’t sit on a rock but that day I had to. “Mr. Pain” chuckled and said “See you next week, you brought the pain!"

I chuckled as well and said “I’ll be back” in my Terminator voice…. LOL.

P.S. “Mr. Pain” is a fictional character that just came to me as I was writing this blog. You don't have to be an elite runner to relate to "Mr. Pain". Having an imagination makes it so fun.

Happy Running

Mel