I was quite honored by Carol’s blog (the first of her many infamous blogs) when she nicknamed me “Cheetah”, as a reference to my running ability.  The morning run of which she was referring was a huge confidence builder for me.  Prior to Team Camp, I had been doing a lot of long slow mileage, keeping my heart rate down to build a huge base, and then top off the last few weeks prior to the Oklahoma City Marathon with a hill-bounding + speed/tempo workouts to “sharpen the saw”…this is the Lydiard Training Method which focuses on building a huge base of target heart rate miles, which has proven to build/increase the amount of mitochondria in the cells – parts of the cells that are key in breaking down enzymes in the blood.  Not to bore you, but theoretically, this will enhance my body’s efficiency of breaking down and eliminating lactic acid – one of the “monsters” inhibiting optimal performance.  So, all this to say, I hadn’t really incorporated much tempo or speedwork, and the thought of “running with the pros” was pretty intimidating…
Well, the first run went well and even the second run was good…but, then my ego and stubborn pride got the best of me, and I haven’t run a step for a week! 
You see, Rachel was running long on Monday morning – roughly 20 miles – which was to be my third consecutive day of “higher intensity running” after doing nothing except lower intensity, target heart rate miles.  Common sense should have taken over, but I just wanted to get in as many workouts with my Teammates as possible, and glean from their experiences and knowledge!
6:00 AM…I arrived in the lobby.  No Rachel.  I abided by the “10-minute” rule (giving a running partner 10 minutes of tardiness before leaving), and then at roughly 6:10 I set out to run a loop, and then meet back with the second group of athletes meeting to run around 7AM.
It was beautiful, peaceful, and spirit rejuvenating for the first 45 minutes. Then, I noticed my left calf was really starting to speak to me.  I finished the first hour of running, and met back with the 7 o’clock group, who were also observing the “10-minute” rule. 
Again, common sense was telling me I had run enough and should have just gone to the swimming clinic (swimming…YIKES!) that Melanie was putting on, but my dern ego and stubborn pride wouldn’t allow me to.  I had told at least one other person I was doing “20”, and that’s what I was going to do!
For the first 15 minutes, I was fine and the pain in my calf was “uncomfortable”.  However, within the next mile, my body was done and I was reduced to a walk.  So, I succumbed to my own body’s chastening of stubborn pride, and turned back.  I ended up “walking” at least a mile, before I was actually able to jog back to the resort.
For a week, I have been forced to spend more time on my swimming – Heaven knows I needed it!  I am going to an ART therapist today…
Train smart!
Lisa “cheetah” Butler