Running has been harder than I had hoped. I know I had my grand idea of going all fast forward through the C25K, but when I really started diving into it...well...it sounded like a better idea than the actuality of it. I just can't do a 60-sec run followed by a 90-sec walk. I mean I can do it, but it's too basic for me at this point in the game. What the whole grand idea taught me, however, is that I need to go back to my intervals. I had to swallow my pride for this. It sounds stupid, but it truly was...no...is a struggle for me. Endurance versus speed. Is it better to be able to go longer without stopping/walking or is it better to be faster? Post injury, however, it's been kind of a moot point. I no longer have my endurance. I did 3 runs at 2 miles a run and after each run I felt like I had hit my capacity. Then I stopped running (for 2 1/2 weeks) out of frustration and depression. That will teach me.
I told myself that I had to do 5 miles on Saturday. If I did not, I would be so far behind my half marathon training with no hopes of catching up. I sucked it up and set my Garmin to 5/1 intervals. I decided to run in my subdivision and I headed out with my tunes, my gum, and a Powerade Zero in the mailbox. My first 2 miles were sub-13. That was amazing for me. It's been A REALLY LONG time since I've seen that. I swung by my mailbox at 2.2 miles for a drink. I continued along, trying really hard to maintain that sub-13, but my pace started slowing. I swung back around to my mailbox at 3.7 miles for another drink. I thought about only doing 4 miles and then I got mad at myself. I headed out to do 5 and I was going to do 5! I set off to finish out the remaining 1.3 miles knowing just the right path to finish it off. I completed my run feeling accomplished. I haven't felt like that in A REALLY LONG time. In fact, the last time I ran at least 5 miles was back on October 30th when I ran an injured 7 miles before I found out about my stress fracture. That was 3 months ago!!!
On my last 2 mile run - 2 1/2 weeks ago (boo on me) - I averaged 13.28 min/mile pace.
On this 5 mile run, I averaged a 13.30 min/mile pace.
Looks like my 5/1 intervals allowed me to do the distance while maintaining my speed. I honestly can say had I tried running the 5 miles without the intervals, I either never would have made it the entire distance and/or my average pace would have been around a 14 min/mile.
Since this post is mostly about running, I thought I would add that my friends Meliska, Lauren, Rachel, and I are all doing the Chick-fil-A 5K on February 19th. This will be my first 5K for the year. My PR is a 39.40. That's a 12:47 pace. I don't have any high hopes of PRing this race, but...well it would be really great to have a race I can be proud of. The only way to make that happen is to run. Practice makes perfect. I have a recommitment to my "craft", if you will.
My mileage for January is pathetic. It's not even a drop in the bucket to get me to my goal of 600 miles for the year. February, here I come!
6 comments:
Injury and weather - 2 things we cannot conrol. But what we CAN control, or try to, is our outlook. You are right to be PROUD of those 5 miles! So your mileage for the entire month is less than you wanted. It's still much higher than what MANY people are able to accomplish. You.are.doing.it!
Can't wait to cheer you on in March - Houston set a pretty high standard for spectators. I'll try to live up to it!
Girly reading your blog brings me back to how I use to feel last summer. Embarking in new milage is hard. You want to get the miles in but you see everyone else running a faster pace and you just want to run faster and farther. Ive been there and its not easy. My advise is to set certain runs a week to work on some speed (like 1) then set others where you just run the distance and keep adding a little at a time, even if its .25. This helped me so much. I tried the c25k plan and it didn't work for me. I knew I could run 3 miles without stopping, I just needed to slow down to do it. If you want to work on speed do try just running those work outs 1 mile at a time or 1.5. It will all come together! Time + training = achieved goals.
Good job in getting 5 done. I'm with you--bring on February and let's show it what we can do!
Hey! I just found you over at That Pink Girl blog. I can so relate to your struggle. Last year for me was a bit of start and restart so I get the frustration. But as I have had to learn the hard way moving forward past, injuries, weight, what-evah it is, its an uphill road. You can do it! Sounds like you have set your mind to it and that's half the battle!
I love that you are re-commiting to February-as am I! I love new starts. It just feels so great!
I think that we should have a Nia date! What part of Houston do you live in? At the place I go to, your first place is free!
I always admire your commitment to running. Yes, I know it's hard sometimes. Yes, I know injury and motivation sometimes gets in the way. However, believe it or not, you are pretty darn committed, and I'm so proud of how far you've come!
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