When I was training for my first marathon, I did a post
called Random Thoughts from a marathoner in training. Some people commented that they liked posts
like that, so I decided to do a part 2 (although now I’m only doing a marathon
relay). My thoughts aren’t as random this time. They are all related to
running!
One day last week I took my run to the rail trail. This is
where I go when I want to do a longer run without interruptions since I don’t
have to worry about traffic, red lights, broken sidewalks, or tripping over
roots. My plan was to do 5 miles and if I could stick to the plan and do that,
I would allow myself to make a pit stop at the Starbucks located along the
trail before returning to my car. Here
are my 5 thoughts during this run.
It was still afternoon
when I started and the sun was up in all its glory so it was still hot out! As
I ran the first mile I could feel the tightness in my legs, my calves, and my
ankles. It was a BIG reminder that I needed to get myself back to the gym. I was definitely feeling the results of not stretching
or strength training over the summer. I
finished the first mile at my target pace.
As I started the
second mile I thought to myself “What am I doing”? I don’t need to be pushing so hard on a
training run. I know I always say I
don’t care about pace, but when I am running by myself, I seem to always want
to push and see what I can do. That’s why I will never run without my Garmin. Turns out I really did listen to myself and
said “pace doesn’t matter, it’s all about getting the miles in”, but as my mind
was processing it, I thought well if pace doesn’t matter than why don’t I just
start walking?” I was really struggling
with my own thoughts here! Of course
pace does matter but not to the point where I need to push myself like on race
day.
I bargained with myself and decided I would run to the next half mile
marker and then I would let myself walk for a few minutes. I got to the end of the second mile and of
course was disappointed in myself. I felt like cutting my run short (to only 4
miles) and just going back to my car. At this point I didn’t care about
treating myself to a frappe from Starbucks nor did I feel like I even deserved
it.
This didn’t bother me
on my run, nor is it a reason I was struggling, but I could feel a slight
niggle under my right knee cap. I felt it was at least worth mentioning (or
remembering) in case it turned into something later.
I continued to run and
when I got to the turn around point things actually started to get a little easier. I don’t know if it was because the slight
headwind that was blowing warm air on me had subsided or if it was a mental
thing because I knew I was on my way back. I decided to just run at a steady
pace that felt comfortable. I made it to mile 5 and decided that indeed
deserved the frappe! Afterwards I walked
one extra mile just for good measure! -M