This evening I went for my four-mile run, which I haven't done in a long while, and I marveled at how easy it was. From the first step, the first block, the first mile, I knew it would be an easy and quick run and that I would be home soon. Yes, I'm talking about a run that's almost entirely uphill for the second half. I even did an extra lap when I got home because I liked the song that was playing on my iPod, bringing it up to 4.7 miles.
I feel that confidence whenever I start a race as well. It blows my mind just that I am able, like physically capable of these things. It's a far cry from last summer when I set out on my runs without knowing for sure if I could run back, or how much it would hurt to do so. Of course I haven't seen real heat yet this year, so we'll see what it does to my runs. I hope I don't have to eat my words!
My friend and reader Corey emailed me today about the Warrior Dash and so now I'm seriously considering it. Thanks, Corey! :P I want to talk to Grady tonight and see if he wants to train to do it with me. These kinds of events are fun but they would be so much more fun if there was ever anybody there that I knew. Grady is so much more outgoing than I am, I just know we could make some friends if he came with me. It worked at Crossfit!
Whether he wants to go or not, I'll see if there's a group going together from Crossfit. Otherwise, I'll inquire at Weight Watchers. I know I'm not the only one in my meeting who is a bit advanced for the Walk It challenge, so it might be worth a shot. Even if not, our leader Jane is talking about putting together a group for the 5K the following weekend. We're not going to travel to Atlanta after all but just find a local 5K to run in that day. I hope we get team t-shirts! Also I'm going to see if Grady wants to train with me for that.
You should do it! Where else are you going to get to climb through a junkyard, rappel, and jump over fire all in the same race?. AND you get a cool warrior helmet and a free beer. Just show Grady the helmet. But be careful, many of them fill up quickly. The Washington one is in July and just sold out.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on all you have accomplished! I love your blog and I read it every day (this is withlovealone from reddit)
ReplyDeleteI wish I could run 4 miles, I can on the treadmill but I'm only up to 1.5 outdoors. I'm trying to get my ass in gear for a 10K people in my office are doing in September! Any pointers?
Hm, that's a tough one as I haven't ever run a 10K. I think my longest run was about five miles. I did Couch to 5K last year to get started, and I know there are programs to increase from there to 8K or 10K. Check out these podcasts:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.djsteveboy.com/intervals.html
I'm currently use the Speedbump program to improve my 5K time, and it works really well.
Corey ran a 10K last week or so. What say you, Corey?
Wow! 4 miles on the treadmill is awesome! I've only ever run 3 on one and I'm not sure I'm coordinated enough to bump it up. My advice is go slow, both in speed and in adding distance. You want to gradually get your legs used to running further on the ground, once you're able to comfortably cover the distance you can work on improving your speed. Also, you don't have to do everything in one long stretch- it's ok to stop in the middle of a run to stretch, grab a drink, or walk a bit if you need to.
ReplyDeleteAnd everything doesn't have to be distance-based. I'm training with a group for my first half marathon and our homework schedule involves one long run a week, with several other days where we run for anywhere from 20-45 minutes. So as I was building up to my first 10k I would run 2-3 times a week for anywhere from 1.5-3.0 miles (depending on how fast & long I felt like running on that particular day), and then once a week I'd run further.
A lot of running is mental. Just keep telling yourself you're not going to die. I always feel like quitting for the first 2-2.5 miles, but if I can get past that, I start to enjoy it and the distance adds up before I realize it.
Oh, and let you legs rest in between runs, especially after your long runs.