I ran an easy 8:40 pace. I had to use the treadmill to run tonight. Ugh. My daughter had a Dr.'s appointment in the morning so I lost my chance of running early. There were some positive things about the treadmill run though. One, it made freezing cold weather look down-right enjoyable and two...hmmm...two...uhhhhh...well at least I have some motivation to run numb-faced again.
I did get the treadmill with the remote control on it. How lucky is that - I must've done something good today. So I turned the T.V. to PBS and watched a documentary about Seabiscuit, the hero horse of the 1930's who won a big horse race after what was thought to be a career ending injury with a rider who should have been done with horses himself after some serious broken bone-age. It was all very inspiring and made me think that maybe if I lost an arm or a leg it might be easier for me to get that sub 3 hr. goal. Hopefully just running when it is really, really cold will do the self-sacrificing trick. I do wonder if the girls running around me thought I was a boring old lady for having the T.V. on PBS - snoresville.
A piece of good news: I thought I might have to move out to Baltimore where I would be babysitter-less this summer in order for my daughter to get a surgery she will need. Today I found out the surgery can be done here where we are in a place with babysitters galore. That means a fall marathon can still be in the works for me. Phewph! Oh, and there will be less disruption in my children's lives and all that not-focused on me and my needs stuff. It was a good day.
1 mile warm-up, 5x800 with 400 easy in between, 1 1/2 mile cool-down
800's at 3:22 (downhill), 3:38 (uphill), 3:26, 3:29, 3:30
I have felt invincible to the running blah's since I've returned to running from this last pregnancy. The pukes, hunting down babysitters, cool weather - nothing has discouraged me. But today when I walked outside and felt the freezing cold and thought about how I was going to have to push myself in my work-out, I was really grateful that I had my mother-in-law inside watching my kids who I want to continue to bamboozle into thinking I'm a tough girl. It's really important to me that people think that I'm unnaturally tough and so I overplay the card quite a bit which, I'm sure, just leads folks to the correct conclusion, that I'm a bit of a pansy. My labor nurses would be able to confirm on that one if you're one of the those that I've been able to pull the wool over on. I did warm up eventually, kind of, by the end of the run but I don't think I'll be putting the hat and gloves aside anymore. I was thinking that there needs to be a little loop on all winter running pants and hooks on hats and gloves so that you don't have to carry your hat in your hand once your head starts steaming up. I think I'll make that one of my future sewing projects that never happens. Consider it on the list.
I feel pretty good about the times I ran today. Of course I want some vast improvement over the next six months, but I felt like I was working hard and that's mostly what I ask of myself. Although I do wonder if I was really working as hard as I could. One thing I want to improve on in this next marathon is my mental game. I want to be a little less cautious than I have been about going at a harder pace. I'm sure the speed work-outs are the place to work on my ever-conservative, pain-fearing mind. So I'll try to keep track of my mental status on speed and hill days. Be afraid.
I'm playing catch-up AND I just realized I am posting a week behind where I should be. Wow. Do I have it together or what?? I'll just call this Thanksgiving week and skip the next week and then I should be all solved. Yipes. This 4 mile run was done in a panicked rush on a morning I was trying to get ready to go to my sisters for a few days. It was slow and unfocused - but at least I made time for it! Oh and I had another yippy dog experience. PEOPLE!!
I meant to do a 5k this morning but poor circumstances prevailed. It made me sad. I have to force myself not to get discouraged about trying to carve out running time for myself. It seems like a constant battle and infringement on others. It keeps me sane though, so I've got the motivation to keep carving.
I did 1 mile warm-up and cool-down. 4X400 hills with a 400 back down. I ran into the dog from my last hill work-out - darn dog - and I was pretty brazen about getting him home. Maybe I'll come back into this blog when I have more time and detail the whole gory story. No time now though with the baby in my lap. The hills felt decent, but the dog kept the work-out from being as intense as it should have been. Yep - blame it all on the dog.
This was a glorious, fantastic, marvelous, escapist run - just what the momma ordered. It was a pretty, cool morning. I kept an 8:12 pace and it felt like a moderate run. Again the first 2-3 miles felt stiff and slow with the last 3 feeling fast and free. I love the fast and free - just the way I was meant to be.