Friday, April 13, 2012

Thursday April 12th - three and a half miles

Last night I ran the same path I ran Tuesday night. I snapped this photo as I was running under the cherry blossoms and then Instagrammed it. They are so so pretty. I love spring!!

The run wasn't as great as it was on Tuesday. I'm not really a great eater, but I typically try to eat a salad or something along the lines of chicken and veggies for lunch. Tuesday I'd had a carb heavy lunch of Indian food and drank a ton of soda at work. I thought I'd be sluggish for my run but in fact felt great. Yesterday I had a salad for lunch and as usual drank a fair amount of soda, but not as much as Tuesday. I know people are supposed to carb load the night before they have a big run, but maybe a few (like 7ish) hours makes a difference too? I have no idea.

Anyway, I started off the run great but was going a little slower than I was on Tuesday. I didn't think too much about it until I reached the end of the Reservoir, which meant I had about another mile. My legs felt pretty tight and I just felt sluggish. I considered stopping to stretch out, but since it was only a mile, and a fair amount of it was downhill, I kept going since it wasn't too bad.

Something that also got in my head was so many people passing me. I don't care about being a fast runner, but it doesn't mean I want to be the one always seemingly last. When I first started running the Reservoir I noticed the fact that I never passed anyone unless they were walking, people always passed me. Then after a while I wasn't the slowest anymore and would occasionally pass people. I guess it just makes me feel like I'm not a total loser. Anyway, it got in my head last night and I just kept thinking, "Why have I not passed
one person jogging??" There were a ton of running groups out and so many really fast people. I kept thinking to myself, "Is there some sort of speed training tonight I don't know about?" I know I'm slow, but is a ten minute mile really that slow? I guess maybe it is. I tried to tell myself to imagine all the people I would be passing if they were out in the park but instead are sitting at home on the couch. Tomorrow is my five miler. I'm a little nervous but last night I could have run another mile and a half if I needed so I think it'll be okay.

2 comments:

maggie said...

10 minute miles are not slow! I think that is pretty average, if not the faster side! Good luck with the 5 miler. You will do great, and one day, you will have a 5 miler and think "is that all?!". Go!!

Jen and Tyson said...

i have to agree with maggie! 10 minute mile is not slow at all! Actually its great!! and probably the average time for tons of runners. Good for you getting outside and running, your body will totally thank you the day of the race! treadmill running vs. outside running makes a big different! just think about how amazing you are for actually going out and Running! think of how awesome it is how far you go and think about how very FEW people can do what you do!!! :) that's what i tell myself everytime i go out for a run! just keep it up and you will have no problem at all!! and especially on hard days when running and you are tired, just keep going, i sometimes like those runs the best because that's just how you might feel on race day towards the end, but you will KNOW you can do it! :) so keep it up! it's a super rad accomplishment!! btw...perhaps you could careless if random people comment on your blog, but i'm friends with shantay if they helps make things less creepy from a random commenter. :)happy running!
- jen