fast but slow

i got a few little tastes of speed this year and i found out - it's fun to be fast!

**now, i'll back up and clarify, this speed of which i speak is all entirely karen-centric and not meant to be associated with my swim, bike, run colleagues who are light years faster than me. i guess i should edit that line above to say "it's fun to be fastER!" ok. yes, that's what i meant. **

however. fast is not what i am right now. i can't even do fast if i try. my legs just don'twanna. recovering from finishing 140.6 mile race is a long process and one of the things that is affected, not surprisingly, is your speed. not that speed is the only problem, or even the least of your worries, but it does affect fun. since i'm only in it for the fun, well, yes, i have a problem.

your mind thinks, how about an easy 10 miler? your mind is your enemy here. people training for a long race can toss around phrases like "easy 10 miler" and "recovery run" and "hill repeats" and "track workout." people recovering from long races cannot. well, you can toss them around, but they land with a thud on the ground.

people recovering from ridiculous races or injuries, or both, can toss around phrases like, "30 mintues non stop running" and "i'm back up to 4 miles" and "i'm pain free!" and be immensely proud and totally excited.

but here's the dilemma. fast is fun, right? the faster you do your allocated 4 miles, the more fun it is. BUT, the faster you go, the sooner you are done, and the less time you have spent crunching gravel on the mall, watching the sunrise, and giving that slight nod to other runners saying, yeah, i know, it's awesome, isn't it?

you want to go fast, but you want to take it all in...slowly.