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So, I took a couple weeks off from running, spinning, pretty much everything exercise related...except chasing my 18 month old around every day! I decided that everything else we were trying was not working, so why not try some rest?! It has definitely helped and I feel like I am doing a lot better. I ran/walked 5 miles on Saturday with my team and it went pretty well. The hardest thing for me was the fact that after taking 2 weeks off, I felt completely out of shape! Oh, and the fact that it felt like it was 100 degrees at 7:30am last weekend! Regardless, I made it! Afterwards, despite the water I drank, I felt really icky and just plain exhausted, so I tried one of my new electrolyte drinks and within an hour, I was feeling back to myself again! Yay! I am really tryting to be proactive about my fluid intake the day before I run now. It is so important! On Wednesday nights, there is a track workout that is led by our head coach or assistant coach. I have been dying to try this since it began on June 30th, but my injury has kept me away, so last night I tried it for the first time! It was extremely tough, but I have no doubt that it will help me immensely over the course of the next few months! We did some interesting stretching exercises, which made me realize my core is not strong at all. That is something I really need to work on! The main workout was to run 6 intervals of 800 meters! Wow! In hearing that, I was stressed. 800 meters is 2 laps around a track, which is half a mile! 6 of those! I was thinking it may not happen for me since I had been out of commission for so long, but I decided to put the doubt out of my mind and just run. It was probably my toughest run to date. I was the last to finish in my group each time, so I had minimal time to rest in between intervals! After the 5th interval, Coach Kerry, our head coach, asked who was finished and who could do the last interval. A few people decided to be finished at 5 intervals, which was still a huge feat, but I decided to try and do the last 2 laps! It was pretty tough, but I am so glad I did it! I even finished 11 seconds earlier than my prior intervals! I think one of my favorite things about the track workout, (besides the running of course) is how positive and encouraging most people are! It makes it so much nicer when you are dragging yourself down the track, so exhausted and feeling like your legs may give out, to hear "Go Ashley!" "You can do it Ashley!" "You go girl!" and the list goes on and on to what was said to me last night, during each of my intervals! It was so encouraging and I am so thankful for my coaches, mentor and teammates! I left there feeling very positive about my run and about myself! We headed to Mr. Taco for dinner afterwards and it was great to sit and chat with people. Getting to know new people has always been one of my favorite things to do! I was so tired after I got home last night...I slept like a baby, which is pretty rare for me! I had to ice both of my feet/ankles last night...I am just trying to be proactive about them. My left foot was starting to give me some trouble last night, which makes me wonder if my issues are actually coming from my shoes, like I have wondered all along! I am headed to the running store this morning to see what I can figure out...hopefully I will leave there with magic shoes!

With Love,
Ashley