Yes, I'm a little behind in posting this run.
I ran a few errands in the morning, because I knew I would be worn out after the run and would not want to do them then. I was also waiting for the temperature to rise a little more.
When I returned from my errands, I forced myself to get ready to run. When I walked out the door, it was drizzling a little. I very easily talked myself out of running in that mess, went back inside, and changed. My wife had just gotten out of the shower, "I thought you were going running?" (I guess it was more of a question than a statement). I went out to my truck to get something I had meant to bring inside - it had stopped raining, so I had to make a "statement". I changed back into my running clothes and headed out for 16 miles, hoping the rain would hold off.
About 2 miles into the run, I was wishing that I had no worn a long sleeve shirt over my short sleeve shirt. It was around 50 degrees and I was burning up. For miles 6 through 8, that mentality had changed - the wind had picked up and I was "freezing". I was so mad at the wind I wanted to throw something.
I turned around at mile 8 and headed back home. This time I had brought some gummie Life Savors for a pick me up. I had read that besides gels, energy bars, etc. that some people use gummie candies for a little boost. I don't know if it was the candy or just in my mind, but I did run miles 9 (9:31) and 10 (9:28) faster than miles 3 through 4. (As a side note miles 6, 7, and 8 were 10:07 each. Three consecutive miles to the second seems impossible.) The wind wasn't too bad until I reached the homestretch of the last 2 miles. The wind, plus my exhaustion, pushed my time to over 11 minutes per mile for these last two.
Overall, this run was 6:06 faster than last week's 16-miler. To me, that is amazing - cutting off 6 minutes in 16 miles. I was also impressed with my 10:03 pace, especially with an 11:40 for my last mile.
The rain did hold off...
another inspiring story, i know how hard it is to get back out there after you have already decided you aren't going to run. reminds me of the hill i made myself walk up in montana (you might call it a mountain. i knew it was the hill i needed to climb to get up to where the elk were. i also knew it was going to take a lot of time and effort to get up. i thought i can drive back to another spot and maybe get up there easier, but i might spook the elk. i took a gut check and thought to myself i did all that running during the summer and that hill will not beat me, besides i had about 7 days left in montana to get up the hill (basically i had nothing but time). so i packed my stuff and headed up the hill. with a 40-50 pound pack i made it up the hill in 1 hour, the same time it would take me to run 6 miles, i walked 150 yards. that night i heard the elk i eventually shot.
ReplyDeleteNo pain. No gain. Some times it pays off at the time; some times it may be in the future.
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