Running Isn't Always Easy

Wow!
Gee!

Ran 5 miles in just under 1 hour.
This run was difficult in every sense.  And I had to actually take some walking breaks. And had to stop the treadmill at every mile (sometimes even half a mile) to catch my breath and drink some water. Then, at about Mile 3, I actually went to the fridge and grabbed a quarter of a tuna sandwich. Strangely though, mile 4 and 5 were much easier.
Lessons learned:

1. Running is mental. Gotto get through it.
   "Let's run for another minute."
   "Run until .5  mile is up and you can have a sip of water."
   "Run at incline #2 for 1 minute and you can take the speed down a notch."
   "Your mind wants to keep going. Don't let your feet win this mental race now."
2. I need to work on my nutrition.
   My legs of steel might have something to do with my nutrition. The lack of proper fueling and the extras I (most likely) am carrying on my body. Gotto shed a few pounds and fuel right!
3. Stretch. Got to stretch. Got to stretch. Especially since I have been running a lot more miles now than I had been for the longest longest time.  Got to keep the injuries out of my life in 2012.
4. Tough runs like this are needed to keep everything in perspective. It is humbling. It reminds me that I am not a rock star. It reminds me that hard work is needed to achieve that rock star status. It reminds me that there are things in life that are worth working hard for. It reminds me that there is always room for tweaks and for improvement. It reminds me that running is always evolving.

These 5 miles mean I have 17.1 miles for January. About 45 miles to go to hit my monthly goal.
Going to do 3 easy ones tomorrow so I'll hit 20. Monday will be rest day.
I will ice and stretch and keep those injuries from lurking around.

Lesson Learned.

Lesson Learned: Drink lots and lots of water. Don't wait.
After my Thursday run, I returned home to find the boyfriend home, ready to have supper. So I got the food together and sat down and ate with him.  We shared a bottle of Pelligrino over ice and I wished I had more to drink. Usually I'll drink a lot more water than that - a bottle or two right after my run and then, more throughout the day. But, I wasn't thinking right on Thursday evening and I paid heavily for it.
Sometime around 2 a.m., my head was pounding. In fact, I actually knew that something like that was going to happen even before I went to bed that Thursday. Long story short, my head continued to hurt Friday and now, Saturday morning, it is still lingering just a tad. I'm bad with headaches. It's like once they find a comfortable spot in my head, they will inhabit that spot and stay for as long as they possibly can.
So, lesson learned. Drink lots of water after your run, especially now that the temperatures are rising.
Have a good weekend run.