reeeeeally hoping he’ll be at my race!
I’m going to be completely honest.
Getting on the proverbial horse was hard for me to do. I put off my first official run by a day, changed my training plan, made my training plan more of a training guideline, and once I got on the horse, at the end of the week, I ended up running a glorious six miles.
Running is a roller coaster, I’ve found. And it’s more mental than I ever thought possible. Is it like that for anyone else, or do I just let my deep-seated emotional issues associated with running get the best of me? I am sincerely curious! Hopefully soon I will write out my work-in-progress story with running. Luckily I’m liking this story more with every new chapter.
Initial thoughts on week one:
- Whoever invented Clif Shot Blocks is a genius! They are the best fuel for runs that you don’t have time to eat and digest before. And they are especially handy for someone with GI issues like me who can’t stomach food very well before a run.
- Most weekday morning runs don’t happen for me unless I have enough race day fear stored up or I know it’s the only/last possible time I can run. Maybe someday I will learn the discipline to run every morning! Funny, my excuse that these new fall mornings are chilly didn’t go over well with JT. My handsome man kindly reminded me that November 21 will be most likely be wintry. Makes me shiver just thinking about it!
- Still loving my shoes, but my knee straps are missing and my legs are paying for it. I might just have to cut my losses and buy new ones. Blerg.
- After my six-mile run, I started feeling a twinge of the injury that kept me from running for months last year. Basically, the back of my knee is super tight, but I’m trying to be smart about it and not overdo it, so hopefully I’m just being paranoid and it won’t develop into the full-blown annoyance it once was.
- I’m learning the importance of choosing good, smart fuel for my runs. I’ve kept a huge cup or Nalgene bottle of water at my desk, filling it multiple times a day. And I’m also trying to limit myself to one serving of dairy a day and foods that are easily digestible and closest to the source as possible. Of course, I did eat Arby’s for lunch today, including a Jamocha shake, so I’m still a work in progress. But every baby step counts, right?
- While running six miles, I felt like I could have run more – I won’t say easily, but I could have done it and even wanted to do it, but restrained after interpreting my body language. It told me it wanted me to stop, and for the sake of my cranky knee and achy quads, I’m glad I listened.
- I think I am coming down with The Fever. That’s kind of a good thing, considering I’ve signed up and paid for two fairly long distance races in the near future!
Tomorrow morning, I am going to do a quick and easy three-mile route, and then on either Saturday or Sunday, I will do six miles again, and if my body will behave, I plan to jump up to 7 or 7.5 miles in the weeks to come. My 15K (9 mile) race is on October 30th!
My motto for this week is: Work, Play, and Listen.
You can do it!!
ReplyDeleteWhat race is Oct 30th? Maybe I need to run this race?
ReplyDeleteRunning is SO mental! I didn't realize it until I started running 1/2 marathons. This is why I write so many blog post in my head, while running. First, it keeps my mind thinking of something besides running. Second, it's fun writing witty post in my head; and third, I'm really funny when I'm hot/cold/tired.
Keep your mind thinking of something besides running. The last half marathon I ran, I prayed the whole time. It was really awesome. Every time I felt the wind blow, I knew it was God reminding me he was running with me. Talk about an encouragement!
You have to find what works for you. I've been running for a long time so I've figured out what works for me. It's ok to change training/food/shoes/clothes/times you run. It's your time, and sometimes it takes a few times to get into the groove of things. You will do good.
Like OK Chick said...running is SO mental! That's my hurdle to overcome as a runner. I find that if I set little distance rewards for myself - "if I can get to the end of this block, I can walk for 30 seconds," or some such thing, I can get through it, even if I'm struggling on my breathing or if my legs feel like lead. Once I reach my distance goal, I put off the reward until I reach another distance goal, and so on. Hey, whatever gets you around the block, right? For some reason, this works for me.
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats on 6 miles! Huge!