I guess I run now

Race Day (Day 29) What fun that was. Driving down to the race I started thinking that it wasn’t so much a race as a celebration, my chance to celebrate all this training, all the struggles and aches and sweat and doubts and joys of the last 11 weeks. So it was a lovely day at the races. The winner finished the 5k in just over 17 minutes and I finished in 47:20. Could’ve done better if I’d gotten a better starting position & brought water rather than waited in line for it out on the course. First minute I did in about 13 minutes (that’s with the late start), so the excitement & the force of the crowd moved me along pretty quickly as I’d suspected. But I was afraid of getting burned out by this, and all that happened was I went along for as long as I could & then re-adjusted my pace back to my pace. So now I know I can do it, I can do it without completely embarassing myself, and I really like running races.Day 28 NOT a nice day at the Portage today: 46 degrees, windy, dark, bone-chillingly cold. I drove down there winter hat at the ready to try to run, but the wind was too much & I hate being cold! So I used one of my day passes for the student rec & got back on the treadmill. Walk/ran 3.33 miles in 50 mins, average speed of 3.99, average min/mile 15:01. First two miles in 29:28, third in 45:00. Finished the 5k in 46:34 (I think).

I set the MP3 player for week 6 and followed day 2. Walks on 3.5 & 3.6, first 10-min run I did 5 mins on 4.2, 4 on 4.4, and one minute on 5.0, second one I did same thing except 2 mins on 5.0 for 11 minutes total. Once the last 10 minute run of week six was done, I did some 5 min runs, the last run was for 7 minutes: minute 1 @ 4.2, 2 @ 4.4, 3 @ 4.6, 4 @ 4.8, 5-7 @ 5.0. It was fun, but I really hope I get one more outside run in before Sunday!

Day 27 Another lovely day at the Portage, and another 4 mile walk/run. Used week 4 up (minus the 5 min cool down) and week 3 (minus the cool downs) twice on the way back. First mile at 15 mins, three at 47 (so I lost some momentum there), and four at 64 (so a slower 4th mile). It was a tough run…felt like I was running in molasses & my muscles were sticky and sore for the first two miles. I enjoy mile 3, usually. This time for the last run of mile 3, I let my inner trainer (kudos to m3at49 for the inner trainer reference) kick my butt a bit & figured, what’s the worst that happens if I really push it and run hard. So longer strides and faster. Felt okay, good even. I’m still disappointed in my inability to run long times at a stretch, but maybe that’ll come. It’s my race, so I feel okay setting this pace for my training.

But I did decide to take the next few days easy in preparation for the race on Sunday. I want to feel strong, not wiped for this first official 5k. So tomorrow only a 2 mile walk with the dog, Wednesday a 5K only (no 4 mile walk/run), Thursday I’m driving home 9 1/2 hours, Friday a 5K only, Saturday rest with maybe some yoga to stretch out & a few short walks to keep loose, and then the race.

Day 26 I did my run down by the Portage. 4 miles, a distance I think I really like now. Did the 5K listening first to week 4 (until just after the last 5 minute run) and then switching it over to week 3 for the final mile. 3 miles in 47 mins, 4th mile I decided to slow down & enjoy the journey. Beautiful day, sunny, quiet, and a nice cool breeze off the water. And the trail was surprisingly empty for a Saturday. Ended up finishing the 4 miles in about 64 mins.

Day 25 So today was my first official outside run & being a reasonable person who’s never encountered a time when reality didn’t live up to her expectations, I knew it would be fabulous! It wasn’t. Running on ground is hard. Keeping yourself motivated without that clock ticking away is hard. Figuring out how fast to run without the treadmill’s help is hard.

So I think I started out too fast & got winded & then started to wuss out. Knowing that the wussing was in the making, I decided to go 2 miles out, which would at least force me to do a 4-mile round-trip if I wanted to get back to my car. The first two miles were pretty lame with really short runs & really long walks. On the way back, I started having a conversation with myself that eventually lead me to set longer running goals and I think I found my stride. Did 4 miles of a walk/run in 62 minutes and change.

Day 24 Dateline Denver. Up early on the last day of the retreat & I managed to feel good enough to do some running. I planned to do 1 mile just to make myself feel better about dinner the night before, but I ended up doing the full 3.1. Walks on 3.6, and runs of 2 & 3 minutes. I did the 3 minute runs on 4.2, 2 minute ones on 4.4, a 5 minute in there somewhere where I cranked it up to 4.6 during the last few minutes, and a 4-min run on 4.6 to finish up the 5K. Anyway, my stats weren’t great & I couldn’t sustain a run for long without my lungs begging for air, but I managed first 2 miles at 30:46, 3 miles at 46:45, and 5K at 48:22. Walked another .2 at 3.2 and called it a day. The treadmill at the hotel records average speed and mine was 3.8. Still, I was pretty happy with this.

& I’m really happy to see that I exceeded my “miles on a treadmill” month-goal by quite a bit…clicker below. Now I need to set a new goal for this month!

Day 23 Damn that felt good! I’ve been inspired by the women in my C25K yahoo group & by 1 fit chick’s running blogs, so I made a point of making today’s run a good one. I’m also doing my own program, so today’s goal was to up the speed a bit & do two 11-minute runs. First 5-min walk on 3.4, first run on 4.2, 5-min walk on 3.6, 8 min run on 4.2 and 3 mins on 4.6, five min on 3.6, 3 on 4.6, then I threw in another 4.6 3-min run and a 5-min run (4.6) at the end of the 5K. I hit the three-mile mark on 44:42, the 5K at 46:06. Walked until I hit 50 mins on 3.6…with a final distance of 3.34. Pretty proud of this day.

Day 22 Today’s run was supposed to be a single 25 minute run, but I knew going in that I wasn’t ready…I don’t want to kill myself or fail trying & end up giving up. So I went in prepared to do 2 10 minute runs again. First walk on 3.2, runs on 4.2. First run I stretched out to 11 minutes, 5 minute walk, then towards the end of the last 10 minute run, I accidentally knocked the emergency stop button out with my hand & lost my totals. I was pretty sure of the time, but the distance & calories I’ll have to estimate. Got the treadmill running again & finished the last run & walked for 6. I figure I did 2 15:30-minute miles, added an additional .4 walking at 3.6 for a total of 2.4 miles in 36 mins. & that was reason enough for me to stop today. Think I’ll head back to the gym tomorrow to see if I can’t make today’s run a distant memory.