Sunday, November 22, 2009

trying to get back on track.

So I pretty much took the last week off of running. I didn't feel very well and was very swamped with other things. I felt kind of guilty for not running... and then I kept not doing it. I guess I fell off the bandwagon already, but I ended up getting myself back on yesterday. I'm committed to getting these 1000 miles run. I'm just very worried that I won't get it all complete. I'm going to try to run a significant amount every day this week, especially since I'll be on break from school and I will have a lot of extra free time. I'm definitely excited about that.

So, in my book that I read, the author, Amby Burfoot discussed an race that he used to run frequently. In that race, all of the runners would just run around a track for exactly one hour and then see how far they had gone. Now, I'm not sure that running around a track for an hour would exactly be exciting or anything, but I think it could be interesting to see how far I could go for an hour at this point in my training and then how far I can run in an hour several times in the next year. I think that I could improve a lot. I'm interested in trying that idea and seeing how it goes. I may try to do an hour run on Wednesday or something like that. I will probably end up doing five miles or a little more if I really push myself hard. Maybe if I go running at my mom's house over Thanksgiving break, I can just call her when my hour is up and she will come pick me up wherever I am... ha. I don't think that she would just wait by her phone to see when I am ready... haha. I guess I'd have to end up walking home or something, but only count how far I went within the hour.

Yesterday and today, combined, I ran close to 11 miles. I think that's pretty impressive. I'm proud of myself. I was getting worried, because I wasn't feeling like running for several days in a row. I really got lazy. I'm a little concerned that, if I continue to take some time off from running, I will continue to take longer breaks that I need to, which will put me really behind. Hopefully, I'll be able to stay on top of it. That's definitely the goal.

I've decided that I'm going to ask for some running gear for Christmas from my family members. I want one or two pairs of nice running pants, especially since the winter is approaching. Having nice pants would definitely help me to feel motivated to run outside when the weather is cold. I also am going to try to get some sort of lighting gear or something that I can wear to run in the dark, so that I can feel a little more confident about it. There's just something about running outside at night that can be creepy- especially around my university. It's really not very well-lit, which makes it feel unsafe.

My run today went pretty well. I'm definitely building endurance. My breathing is doing a lot better than it was when I first started exercising semi-regularly about a year ago. I definitely have been feeling some soreness in my legs before I'm having trouble with my breathing, which is a nice change. It's nice to be able to run further without stopping. However, at the end, when I'm almost done with my running, it has been getting a little bit more difficult to keep the running stamina. I've been finding myself fighting to keep myself from stopping and walking, especially after I have already gone several miles. I'm hoping that I will be able to have better stamina within the next few weeks... I like noticing the improvements that I already have, though. It's exciting to see that things are changing for me.

My goals for the week are to get back to where I need to be with my running. I don't want to be as far behind as I am right now. I'm going to run a few longer runs in order to get caught up with what I missed last week... and this week I'm going to HAVE FUN running... and think of this as something exciting that I'm doing. I'm going to try to change my outlook on exercise. I'll keep updating with how that goes. :)

Goal: 1000 miles/365 days
So far: 41.68/15 days
To go: 958.42/350 days

3 comments:

  1. I'm proud of how far you've come even though you are behind. Last year you wouldn't have even run 41 miles in a month or two and now you are doing it in 2 weeks. That is awesome! I'm glad your breathing is improving as well. Just remember to stretch stretch stretch evne though it annoys you for me to tell you that. I only tell you because I care about you and don't want your muscles to hurt more than they have to.

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  2. Way to get those miles going again. I agree with Katherine, make sure you're stretching after runs. Also, if having problems w/ muscle soreness foam rollers work great. can buy almost anywhere and there are plenty of videos on youtube showing how to use.
    For winter running recommend a couple pair of tights and maybe 1 pair wind/running pants.
    plenty of inexpensive light weight headlamps that work great for night running out there.

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  3. oh, and winter running is hard to get motivation for everyone, and fatigue can be a problem as well. One reason is that we aren't in the sun much and our bodies aren't producing enough vitamin D. look on internet for foods rich in vitamin D and increase your intake of them w/ some fat source in meal (vitamin D is fat soluble and eating a fat with it aids absorbtion). This can really help kick those winter blahs...

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