Sunday, November 7, 2010

Be Kind.

The Pre-Run Arrangement: I was going to run with a female and male today.  Sweet Ms. T sent me a text message at 4 a.m. to tell me she has troubles with her belly and can't make it. BUT Mr. J will run. Mr. J wants to run. And so, Christina lost her golden chance to back out of a run. It was cold. It was warm in bed. But Christina got out of bed and geared up.

The Pre-Run Snack: Peanut butter jelly sandwich.

The Plan:
10 miles.

The Temperatures: It was 32 degrees F when we started and 34 degrees F when we finished. I may have a head full of hair, but they did absolutely nothing to keep my head warm.

The Run: Wow. Wow. Wow. We started strong and did some catching up. We haven't ran together for over a month now. He did a long 11-miles with me in late September. So, we talked about his wife and kids, his 5K races, my boyfriend, my half marathon etc. It was good. I felt pretty good. It was manageable. Then, it got harder. I was trying to breathe in deeply more and more. Of course, there were inclines. One right after another. Not steep inclines. Not long inclines either. But just inclines.
Did I already say Wow! Wow! Wow!?  I took the chance to catch my breath going up and coming down inclines. I remembered what Aneta and Christine told me - "small steps going up the inclines."

Our conversations faded because Christina ran out of steam. Seriously. I was doing all I can to conserve my energy to run. I did something sneaky .... I tried to ask him questions that would involve him explaining or giving me a long answer so I can keep him talking and I can be quiet and run.  Finally at about Mile 6 or so, I finally told him I gotto take it a little slower. Mr. J was accommodating. He slowed down and we ran. We finally ran back to the Y where we had parked our vehicles. I apologized for not running fast enough. (I really feel bad. This is the man who just finished a 5K in 25 minutes.)  I also felt bad with myself for not doing the 10 miles I had planned to do. 

We finished 6.68 miles in 1 hour 8 minutes.
Here are my splits:
Mile 1 = 10:31
Mile 2 = 9:58 
Mile 3 = 9:47
Mile 4 =9:54 
Mile 5 = 10:30
Mile 6 = 10:39
Last 0.68 mile = 10:47

See those miles in red? I have never sustained under 10-minute miles for more than 1 mile. Maybe that's why I was losing steam toward the end. But it wasn't much steam. I was still going faster than I normally would when I run alone.  My comfy pace is somewhere in the 11:30/mile pace.

So, yeah, I can beat myself up and cry about not doing 10 miles at comfy pace. Or I can give myself a pat on the shoulder for doing 10K at quite a speedy pace.

Give yourself some kudos. Remember, it is easier to just lay in bed and stare at the ceiling. But you chose to get out there today, probably in the cold, probably before the sun is up, and you walked or ran or biked. Be kind to yourself.

11 comments:

  1. chalk it up as a tempo run!

    I wouldn't be able to sustain that either. My long runs need to be at a pace of ~11min per mile +/- 15 secs.

    Get a hat! Find a cute one. Your head will thank you and you will be warmer. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Definitely get a hat, I was reading today, you loose 40% of your body heat "through" your head. There are a lot of cute ones! :)

    Don't even think about being sad about not getting 10 miles in! You did an AWESOME tempo run and keep in mind quality is better than quantity! Sure long runs are important, but in order to improve you need tempo runs and you killed it! Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great run on a cold morning! And I've definitely tried the "open-ended question" trick when I'm running out of steam and my running partner isn't. Works like a charm!

    ReplyDelete
  4. awesome pace! good job!! soon all ur miles will b under 10 min/miles

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think you deserve a great big hug...you went out and you ran (period)! We all know how hard it is to get outside when our warm comfy beds are just that...warm and comfy. Big high-five!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Chin up. That's a great pace. And with it being this cold ... eff.

    ReplyDelete
  7. At least you got out of bed and got out there - don't worry if you didn't finish - some miles are better than no miles! And bonus - you upped your pace. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hot damn! Girl, it is time for you to sign up for a 5k!!!! Awesome run!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I would look at it as a positive -- you got up, you ran, and you ran FAST! Maybe not as long as planned, but you did great.

    Speaking of hats, shouldn't that go on your Christmas list? Or maybe before? They have some on the Bondi Band web page that have a hole cut out for your ponytail. Cute! I may have to get one.

    ReplyDelete
  10. right on... and excellent pace!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good for you for the faster pace! Hope you get to see your family soon!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading! Do leave me a comment or two. They keep me motivated.