Thursday, October 4, 2012

Half way (ish) through week one!

Half-ish way point through week one of training and this is my most pressing question is this:
When am I going to start to like this running thing?
I mean, I like how I feel after and I don’t completely feel like death the whole time anymore, but I am not loving it while I am doing it.
For those of you out there that love running (both before, during and after)… when did that start for you? Did you always love it?
Here is the breakdown of my first half week of training:
Monday- Stretch and strengthen. I did a “Burn 100 Calories Right Now” thing I found on Pinterest and a “Thigh Pyramid” that I also found on Pinterest. (I replaced the jumping jacks with a 1 minute plank since I had already done 125 jumping jacks in the 100 calorie thingy) I wanted to take it each because I hadn’t done strength in a while. I only did the pyramid once (you are supposed to do it three times) because I was running out of time, so it was a very sad excuse for strength training. However, that did not stop my very wimpy body from feeling it the next day. For the stretching component I just did about 20 minutes of random stretching later that evening. I HAVE to give myself more time next Monday to do something better.
Tuesday- 3 mile run. It was rainy and gross outside so I opted for the treadmill at my gym because I am an idiot. This was one of the most painful and miserable runs I have had in a long time if not ever. It was a bazillion degrees (check the thermostat and that’s the number it read), I had delusions of it being easy when I started, and as stated previously, my pathetic strength training from Monday actually made me hurt. My thought process before I got on the torture machine- “I will put it at a zero incline so this will be a nice easy run compared to my runs with hills.” My thought .5 mile in- “kill me.” I was miserable. It was a slow pace, painful, and felt like it would never end. At one point I recalled Hal’s statement in his description of the plan of the plan being flexible and moving things around to fit your schedule. This made me think to myself at mile 1 (which by the way was about 3 hours after .5 mile) that I would just swap today’s 3 miles with tomorrows 2 miles. Then I came to my sense and realized tomorrow I would just be kicking myself.  I pushed myself and finished eventually (ok maybe not pushed, but I finished). I did many walking/running intervals. Nike+ said 3.26 miles at 45:10, fastest mile (2nd)- 12’39”, average mile- 13’50”… however, treadmill said 3.34 miles at 42:50. I know the time difference comes from having to restart the machine at like .15 miles or something like that because I accidently hit reset on the machine when I paused it to take my water bottle off, but I did nothing with the app. My instinct is to trust the treadmill distance versus the app distance, unless someone else tells me otherwise!
Wednesday- 2 mile run or cross. I decided to go back to my trusty random neighborhood I’ve been running at. I needed to get done quickly to make it up to Essex for a Dave Ramsey class (whole other topic, but really enjoyed that!), so I decided to go where I know. I knew about where a mile would be so I figured that would help me mentally push knowing landmarks and what not. My legs were still kind of tired and it was still 80 degrees, so this was (again) not as easy as I expected. I did 2 miles in 24:49. Fastest mile (1st) -12:16, average mile- 12:23.
Thursday- 3 mile run+ strength. I am meeting up with Monica closer to her to do a 3.5 mile route she mapped out. I will probably do the same or a similar strength workout to Monday except all three cycles of the pyramid and nix the 100 calorie thing.  Maybe the "Cowgirl Leg Circuit" or "The Core Challenge". Not sure yet. I am excited to be running with Monica for three reasons: 1. I get to see Monica even though the O’s and Yankees ruined our original plans for this evening 2. Running with someone has seemed to make the time go by quicker and 3. I really need to get better about running at a pace where I can hold a conversation like Hal suggests. When I have been running by myself I am just so concerned about finishing that I know I run faster than or don’t walk as much as I should right now.
I may update this post tonight after running/strength or may just add it to the end of week assessment/update.
I look forward to hearing from any of you fabulous runners out there about your stories of when you started to love it!

3 comments:

  1. you are not going to like this, but: i think it took me a little over a year, maybe 18 months before i really started to love running.

    that being said, there were some good days before then! i think it takes about 4-6 weeks of consistent running before your body is "used to it" and it's not quite so painful.

    also - keep logging your process, and go back and look through it. i found it SO rewarding when i tracked things and could see improvement, and that really started making me like it more.

    stick with it!!!

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    1. Thanks! I know that's not what I want to hear, but it helps to know that I'm not the only one that it didn't come naturally to!

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  2. I don't think I enjoyed it until I could run about 4 miles easily, without stopping or being out of breath. For me, the cardio aspect of it was the part that made me hate it. Once my body adjusted, it wasn't so bad. I'm still not the type of person who enjoys every run (I hate every single run I do in the summer) but after a couple of months of doing it consistently, I mostly enjoyed it.

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