Exciting Run!! (Chicago Training Days 16 and 17)

I'm so excited about my run today!!! (I'm also not sure I have ever actually written that in a blog post before.) Bear with me, though, because I have two training runs to write about.

Let's start with yesterday, because, chronologically, Tuesday comes before Wednesday. I do kind of enjoy being chronological from time to time.

Yesterday was a 4 mile "easy" run. I really struggled with it for some reason. I think that my muscles were pretty tight from work. I probably should have stretched before I went out to run. Actually, I generally should stretch more than I do.

Anyhow, yesterday was a really tough four miler. My pace ended up being close to 15 minutes per mile, which was awful, because it was such a short run. I walked almost the same amount as I ran. I'm a little disappointed in myself, but I am glad that I got the mileage in. I know that I took so much time off of running for several months, which is much of why it is so difficult to get myself back to where I was before. (Although where I was before really wasn't so impressive either.)

I guess that it wasn't terrible and I didn't only walk the entire time. I switched it up a little. I'm going to try adding some stretching into my routing.

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Today was a 6 miler. I went into it with a little bit of a pessimistic attitutde. I thought that I would probably be too slow and actually spent several hours putting running off this morning. (the threat of thunderstorms did not help push me out the door.) Eventually, after I ran out of excuses (and bad television to watch. ha.), I got dressed for my run and went outside.

My first mile was just over twelve minutes which was decent. I can (and usually do) run my first mile in a little over ten minutes and then continuously slow my pace for the rest of the run. I decided to try to push it a little bit more than usual today. When I checked my average pace again, when I was at about two miles, I was at about a 12:20 pace, so I had cut some time off. That wasn't too bad, so I kept pushing it. At three miles, I had slown down a little and was at a 12:58 pace. That's when I decided that I'd finish in under 13 minutes.

I don't believe that I've ever run a training race longer than 3 miles in under a 13 pace. Even my fastest half marathon is at just OVER a 13 minute pace. I just checked and the only 10k race that I've done was a 12:08 pace. I think that's the only time I've actually run a decent distance at that pace.

Anyways, I finished in a 12:55 pace. I slowed down a lot during the last mile. I tried really hard to continue pushing it, but just had to slow down. I am definitely a little disappointed in that, because, at 5 miles, I was at 12:45.

However, I'm really excited that I finished in the time that I did! I feel like I'm starting to finally improve in ways that I was beginning to give up on.

The only major change that I need to make is that I  need to crosstrain and that I need to start lifting weights more. I haven't lifted in a long time. ...and I miss it. Just a thought...

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days
So far: 341.24 miles/193 days
To go: 658.76 miles/173 days

the courage to start.

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." -John Bingham

It's been a long day. My body aches from work and my muscles feel like they want to fall off my body. However, they're still there.

My wisdom for the day is that.. sometimes, it is really hard to keep working out, to keep going, to push through. There are days that I don't want to lift weights or move more than I have to. But I do. That's what is important.