Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Moving on....

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've gotten on here numerous times and have started an entry but haven't been able to complete it. It still sits in my drafts. So instead of continuing to come back to it and not completing it I've decided to just move on and maybe come back to it later.

So yesterday with the encouragement of my husband I decided to train a little different. Instead of going by time I decided to run by distance. I decided I'd go with run .50 walk .10 for 3.10 miles....

So first run of .50 I was at a avg. 12:17 pace. I was actually feeling pretty good and felt like I could go longer but decided I should just stick with the plan.

Walk for .10 at 16:50 pace

Second run I slowed down. I think I was still in the 'minute' mind frame instead of distance and was thinking I needed to slow down to complete it. It wasn't until the end that I realized the faster I go the sooner I get done (Duh moment!) So this .50 I did a 12:44 pace

Walk for .10 at 16:30 pace

This one was at a 12:45 pace

Walk for .10 at 17:12 pace.

12:10 pace. Second wind I guess or maybe this is when I realized the faster I went the sooner I got done....

Walk for .10 at 16:05 pace. So at this point I was feeling pretty good. I started adding up when I'd been walking again and realized this would put me at walk at mile 2.90 for .10 and running from 3.00 to 3.10. So I decided to just got for the full .70 and see how it went....

Look at that! Busted it out at a 11:05 pace at the freakin' end of my run. That really helped my confidence.
One thing I realized on this run is
1. the obvious. I can run a lot more than I thought I could and
2. I spend way too much time comparing myself to other people. While I was running even though I should have been incredibly proud of myself I was debating putting this on the blog because I felt like I was going so slow compared to my friends that are runners. My friends are awesome and are running long distances and running it at a faster pace than me. I am so proud of them and all they've accomplished but I find myself comparing my running to theirs and it's just not fair to myself to do that. I am truly working on my frame of mind and trying to learn to celebrate in my own personal triumphs instead of focusing on where other people are and where I'd like to be (now instead of gradually)


This morning I got up and really wanted to go for another run and decided to go for it. My Hubby really wanted me to just run until I couldn't run anymore and see how far I could go. I left considering doing that but I hadn't really decided what I was going to do
This is what came from me just running. No looking at the time. No checking to see how far I'd gone. And not having any idea what my pace was. It says 10:14 pace at the bottom but that's just what I was doing at that very moment. My avg. pace was actually 11:45 pace (top right). As I was running I was still trying to decide if I should run until I couldn't stop. I really was leaning more towards trying to do the 3 miles and just run the majority of the time so thats when I decided to take a walk break so that I *could* make it the 3 miles. Bad idea. As soon as I stopped to walk my body was like *whoa* and I knew it was going to be really hard to start running again and even harder to do the full 3 miles. I knew I had to at least make it back to the house so I was going to walk for a bit and see if I could run a little more

I didn't plan on walking this long but I got to a hill and did not want to start running on the hill. So after my 5 minute walk I decided to try to run the rest of the way home

So I was able to go the rest of the way (about .60) with a .09 cool down. My pace for that .60 was on avg about 12:15 or so.

I'm pleased with the outcome. I'm on my way to running the 5K without stopping and then it's on to running the 5K in 30 minutes or less! :)





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4 comments:

  1. You are doing great, Emily!!!

    I have felt so inadequate when I compar myself to other people... Imagine how one (sans kids) felt when running with a group of Marine wives pushing double strollers and running 7 minute miles!!!! Yeah, I was like,"Shoot, I suck!"

    Anyways, I really never thought I would get to the point where I can run as far as I have. I look at others and say,"Well, I'm not that good!" Fact of the matter is... it doesn't matter! Just look at how far YOU have come. Besides, like my husband always tells me when I want to morph into a Super-woman-triathelete-marathoner... "Annie, those women who live and breathe running have no life!" So there ya have it, deep wisdom. hehe. Seriously though, you have a LIFE and you are STILL making huge strides in your fitness goals (no pun intended :)

    Cheers to not comparing! btw, don't you hate it when your mind gets in the way of how far/ how fast you are capable of running!? blasted phones/ runkeeper/ mapmyrun! urgh.

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    1. Thanks Annie. Following your running story has really helped keep me motivated!
      The phone/runkeeper can be such a help and a distraction all at the same time! :)

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  2. Emily your progress is great! It takes time to build mileage and speed. I still struggle all the time with both!!! Its not always easy and fun... its hard work. Never compare yourself to anyone else. You should be proud that you're putting forth all that you are to do this with 3 little ones, a husband, and a home! That's impressive.

    The rest will come in time. Seriously when I started I couldn't even run for 1 solid minute. It took putting one foot in front of the other and still does to keep me going. Don't worry about the details... what you are doing is fantastic. Running is hard. If it were easy everyone would be doing it.

    So proud of you!

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    1. Thanks Candace! You are so right if it was easy everyone would be doing it and if wasn't hard I wouldn't be so addicted to it. I think it takes a special kind of personality to be a runner. I really am trying to focus more on my PR instead of everyone else. Thanks for the encouragement!

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