I decided that instead of running the 10k for the Bridge to Brews race I am going to do the 8k again.
I want to beat my time and attempt to run the whole way.
click Pic for source
So how has training been going?
Weeelllll…..
It has not. I didn’t run Monday because I had run the race the day before so I had to recover. Tuesday the Hubster didn’t get home till after 9 so I couldn’t go to the gym. But Wednesday night I was going to go, so it was OK.
I read Ian his story and said goodnight, I then went and changed into my running gear. At which time Ian came in and asked me to lay with him. I thought about saying no, which is usually the case. I decided to say yes, because I thought he would go to sleep faster and I could leave for my run. He was, after all, exhausted and I knew if I went in there he would be out in five minutes or less.
And he was, and so was I.
I woke up almost two hours later….too late for me to go to the gym, and I was obviously exhausted as well, so I went straight to bed.
I am not just addicted to running, but I am addicted to the actual race event.
I love preparing for the event. I love training with a goal in sight. A tangible goal that I can point to on a calendar.
And I am not gonna lie, it feels great to finish.
Even though I was one of 35,000 people participating in the event, I still finished.
With my own personal best time and distance. (4.97 miles in 1:00:56, place 5909 out of 6939)
Yeah, OK, so I have never done a race before, so I have nothing to compare it to, but still…
click pic for source
Let’s talk about the run.
I ran the first 3 miles, and then did walk/run intervals after that. I made sure that I was running as I crossed the line.
I found it really difficult to maintain a slow pace at the start. Everyone around you is running, some are passing you, you are passing others. It is really easy to get motivated to run. The excitement is palpable. You feel great, and you know you can run faster. But I also knew if I ran too fast at first I wouldn’t be able to keep it up and would end up walking more than I wanted to. So I had to keep telling myself to slow down.
Here is the course map:
8k course
The hardest part of the course, for me, was the straight away. You are just running in a straight line and you see all the other people who have already turned around and are heading back. It was kinda boring and a little frustrating, mostly because I had set a goal that I wouldn’t let myself walk until after the 3 mile mark. And I knew that wasn’t until after the turn around!
I realize now that I never should have walked. It was much harder to keep running after walking than it was to just keep running. I never walked for long, but I kept talking myself down. I kept thinking, I can’t run the whole time, I need to do walking intervals, it will be easier if I walk for a minute. But I was wrong.
I probably could have kept running, if only my mind would have kept its voice quiet.
I really want to be able to run a race a month. Races are expensive, but the money goes to charity, so that’s a good thing.
I have already signed up for my next race in April. I will be running the Bridge to Brews. You run across some bridges and after you get beer. What could be better?
I wasn’t going to post a running log till after my run on Thursday. I plan on taking today off and then running tomorrow, but not again until race day on Sunday.
But last night was hard.
So this next sentence will be TMI. Sorry. But you got to hear it to understand how I was feeling.
Yesterday I was having some bad cramps, and was bloated and not really feeling like moving, let alone running.
But I didn’t go Monday because I wanted to go last night. And I kinda have this race this weekend. So I went for a run.
Let’s back track to Sunday’s run.
Sunday’s Run
Isn’t that lovely? I am less than half a mile from the five-mile mark. And yes that distance includes my warm-up and cool-down. But, hey, I traveled them so let’s count them. Plus that distance means I ranmore than 4 miles.
I was really jazzed after that run. I had so much energy. I felt confident that my next run I would reach five miles.
All I had to do was keep running.
Tuesday’s Run
Now back to last night. As you can see I did not make the five miles. I didn’t even make it as far as Sunday.
I was exhausted. The first mile was hard, the second mile was a little easier, but I almost didn’t make it. I had to take a break. So I walked for two minutes, dropped my phone (which had my movie on it) so I had to pause and pick it up.
So now back to running. This time I only made it one mile before I had to walk for two minutes. But when I started running again I picked up my pace. I had less than 11 minutes until 52 minutes and I wanted to get my last mile done by 52 minutes (gotta set a goal).
I did just that. I thought I would then run as long as I could after, but turns out I stopped at 52 minutes for my cool down.
So I am slightly disappointed in myself for not hitting that 5 mile mark. But I have one more day to run before the race.
This time next week I will have completed my first race.
I am excited and nervous. I am nervous because well all you reader out there in blog land who are keeping up with me (all twelve of you) know about the fact that I am doing this. You will hold be accountable. I will have to be truthful with you on how I did.
via Pinterst (orig source unknown)
I will finish. Doesn’t matter what my time will be. I will finish.
But how I have been doing?
Tues Run
Thurs Run
I think Thursday was the farthest I had run since I started running again. I did two walking segments in there, one to two minutes each.
Sometimes my brain has a hard time remembering 8k is not 8 miles, only about 5. Because I look at my distance and then think “how am I ever going to get to 8…” But I like to say I am running a 8k race, because that sounds way more impressive than a 5 mile race.
I Tri and Craft 