How far have I come? How far to go?
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
OH MY I AM ACTUALLY RUNNING 13.1 MILES TOMORROW
In case you need reminding, my goal is to finish in 3:08. Feeling pretty decent about that. Come back tomorrow afternoon to find out whether or not I succeeded!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Nostalgia
Remember that time that I ran in the Germantown 5K? Want to see what it looked like? Here are the long-awaited photos!
In other news, I completed my scheduled 12 miles yesterday. Guess what? It's hard to run 12 miles. It went okay, not as well as I had hoped, but only 3 minutes over my goal time. 16 days until the half!
In other news, I completed my scheduled 12 miles yesterday. Guess what? It's hard to run 12 miles. It went okay, not as well as I had hoped, but only 3 minutes over my goal time. 16 days until the half!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Miss Lynn vs. The Weather
I'm scheduled to do my last long run (12 mi.) before the Nashville Half Marathon this coming Wednesday. Unfortunately, this is the current weather forecast for Wednesday:
Now, I'm not scared of getting a little wet--but thunderstorms are another matter. Which leads me to the classic training dilemma: Do I risk the 30% chance and stick with my training plan, which calls for 4 miles tomorrow and 12 on Wednesday? Or do I switch the days, knowing that the weather will be better tomorrow, but only two rest days after my last seven decreases the chances of my reaching my goal (which is to finish the 12 in 2:45).
I can see the pros and cons of both choices. What would you do if it were you?
Now, I'm not scared of getting a little wet--but thunderstorms are another matter. Which leads me to the classic training dilemma: Do I risk the 30% chance and stick with my training plan, which calls for 4 miles tomorrow and 12 on Wednesday? Or do I switch the days, knowing that the weather will be better tomorrow, but only two rest days after my last seven decreases the chances of my reaching my goal (which is to finish the 12 in 2:45).
I can see the pros and cons of both choices. What would you do if it were you?
Saturday, October 22, 2011
7 Up
What a different six weeks make. On September 10, I did my first really legit training run for next month's Nashville Half. It was seven miles. In a burst of ambition, I planned a route that I had not run before, which in hindsight was probably a mistake. On the way out, the mile between 2.5 and 3.5 is a steady uphill. According to Minnie (if I'm reading her correctly, which is by no means a certainty), the rise is about 200 feet. Add to this the fact that the weather was 85° and sunny that day, and the result was a pretty miserable and discouraging outing.
With the race now only three weeks (!) away, yesterday was time for me to run seven again--this time as an "easy" week, between last week's 10 and next's 12 (last long run before the race). The temp was about 25° cooler (still sunny), which made a huge difference. The six intervening weeks of training may also have helped. In any case, I finished eight minutes faster than in September, from 1:42 to 1:38 (13:26 pace). I will confess to cheating a teeny bit on my intervals on the way home, but DANGIT those hills are killer.
With the race now only three weeks (!) away, yesterday was time for me to run seven again--this time as an "easy" week, between last week's 10 and next's 12 (last long run before the race). The temp was about 25° cooler (still sunny), which made a huge difference. The six intervening weeks of training may also have helped. In any case, I finished eight minutes faster than in September, from 1:42 to 1:38 (13:26 pace). I will confess to cheating a teeny bit on my intervals on the way home, but DANGIT those hills are killer.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Perseverance
Our pastor taught on the topic of perseverance yesterday afternoon, and I was thinking about it during my 4 miles this morning. Which was apropos, because it was not my best short run. I felt fine after Saturday's 5K (and subsequent ambling around the Germantown Street Festival/Oktoberfest/Farmer's Market), and was not really stiff or sore at all yesterday. But for some reason I just wasn't at my best this morning, and the ups-and-downs of my hilly route took it right out of me. After about 3 miles, my knees and leg muscles were getting sore, so I abbreviated a couple of my running intervals (still kept my walking to one minute at a time, though).
It's easy to feel discouraged after a disappointing run like today's. That's part of the territory after you've been running a while, and have progressed to the point where you are setting goals to improve your speed, distance, and endurance. At the beginning, I didn't worry about those things--rather, any run was a counted a success by the mere fact of having completed it! And sometimes, that measure of running success still applies: it's not always fun, it's hardly ever easy, and sometimes it asks more than you can give. But continuing to stick with it in spite of those things is a victory in itself.
It's easy to feel discouraged after a disappointing run like today's. That's part of the territory after you've been running a while, and have progressed to the point where you are setting goals to improve your speed, distance, and endurance. At the beginning, I didn't worry about those things--rather, any run was a counted a success by the mere fact of having completed it! And sometimes, that measure of running success still applies: it's not always fun, it's hardly ever easy, and sometimes it asks more than you can give. But continuing to stick with it in spite of those things is a victory in itself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)