Today I hit ten miles on my long run. This is a miracle....or not. Miracles come easily and spontaneously but I pushed and willed myself to the finish line of this run!
Ten is an all important number for me in my training distance. It means I am only three miles short of the race distance. Ten means I am not a novice to long runs. Ten means the impossible is possible.
I originally was planning to do 9 which was one mile over my last long run. I was in a tizzy about getting this long run in before the rain came and determined to have a good one because the entire week I had not put in the miles I needed on normal run days. This needed to be good to beat the hum-drums of lack of discipline. Before I left the house I read on my Jeff Galloway plan, this week called for 9.5 miles. When got on the track and I hit that I thought what the heck, lets go to ten. I mean really, after 8 it's all a blur anyway! JK!
This run was one that I also was pushing for a better time. Since my last run with Lisa I was convinced have get into a faster pace and cadence. (This wasn't just because of my long run with Lisa but because I was just getting sick of a year of watching 20 year old young things, 60 year old things and people with bad knees passing me all the time!)
I came out of the gate running fast and strong but started feeling the effects of that push halfway through and my legs were having issues. Usually exhaustion in the form of not catching my breath or fatigue gets the better of me, today my muscle strength or lack thereof were my nemesis. Even my feet hurt. I could feel the pound of the track and I was forming a blister on my right foot toe. (I think it's time for an investment in better shoes.) However, using the 3 minute run/1 minute walk intervals, the one minute walks literally kept me from cramping up or just falling from fatigue in my legs.
This one minute walk- which seems like 10 seconds - truly is the life-savor for people who aren't ready to do full out-right runs. There is NO SHAME in doing this program! In fact it's the SMART thing to do if you have ANY physical challenges including being over 40, even if you use it as a start to your running life. It PREVENTS injury during training which can take you out of your race, lets you finish the race stronger and your recovery time afterward is MUCH EASIER! And for all the doubters and scoffers of the run/walk system -especially those who DON'T EVEN RUN themselves- you are still getting an incredibly challenging training and race. Running and walking for over 10 miles or two hours is tough no matter HOW YOU DO IT!
I came out of the gate running fast and strong but started feeling the effects of that push halfway through and my legs were having issues. Usually exhaustion in the form of not catching my breath or fatigue gets the better of me, today my muscle strength or lack thereof were my nemesis. Even my feet hurt. I could feel the pound of the track and I was forming a blister on my right foot toe. (I think it's time for an investment in better shoes.) However, using the 3 minute run/1 minute walk intervals, the one minute walks literally kept me from cramping up or just falling from fatigue in my legs.
This one minute walk- which seems like 10 seconds - truly is the life-savor for people who aren't ready to do full out-right runs. There is NO SHAME in doing this program! In fact it's the SMART thing to do if you have ANY physical challenges including being over 40, even if you use it as a start to your running life. It PREVENTS injury during training which can take you out of your race, lets you finish the race stronger and your recovery time afterward is MUCH EASIER! And for all the doubters and scoffers of the run/walk system -especially those who DON'T EVEN RUN themselves- you are still getting an incredibly challenging training and race. Running and walking for over 10 miles or two hours is tough no matter HOW YOU DO IT!
One thing that hit me the most on this 10 miler was just how LONG it takes. Regardless of how fast you go, it takes a chunk of time to do it. My time was 1 hour 56 minutes averaging 11.6 minutes per mile. That's two hours of running. I never have thought of myself as ADH, but this is one scenario where that applies. I can't tell you how I'm thinking, let's be done with this already. I actually ran faster just trying to get it over and move on to something else in my day. Hey, whatever the motivation, use it!
My 11.6 per mile is pretty good especially knowing my first few miles were well in the 10 minute range and knowing without doubt the last two or three were a struggle as my muscles were recovering from the push I put on them. (The point of reference that makes this good time is the fact my normal mile is 11 minutes in the past and my goal is to shave at least one minute off that for the entire race.)
So today its all about embracing ...
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