I just knew that my 8 mile run would be as fantastic as the 7 mile run I had put in last Saturday. I went to church Sunday with my love and ate a great lunch. Then, with my highly motivated self, I headed out the door on that fine Sunday ready to conquer the world! I got my music in order and started map my run and off I went. Then boom...it hit me...I felt like I was carrying about 20 extra pounds with me. What was wrong?! Why do I feel so lethargic?! I decided it was because I didn't run Saturday and there were too many days between my runs. Then I decided that maybe I ate too much or did not wait long enough before I started running. I told myself for all 8 miles I was tired, my legs hurt, my knee hurt, my arches in my feet hurt, I can't do this today, maybe I can just go 6 miles and do 8 next time, maybe I should have run yesterday or I can do it tomorrow...and so on. But somehow, I kept running. That little voice in the back of my mind kept saying, "You can do it April. Take longer strides, stand up straight, push through this hill, etc". I am glad I kept listening to that voice because the complaints I was hearing just made me mad. Yes, my knee did hurt. Yes, my hips really did hurt. Yes, even today, my arches are sore. But seriously, what did I expect...I just ran freaking 8 miles!! No one can feel tip top after that!
The positive of it all is that I still ran it in under my goal time (1:30:00) and I ran the whole thing. Even though at moments I felt as though I were running in place and that my legs were going to just detach at the hip...I still did it! I ran 8.01 miles in 1:28:48 and you can view my route here. I ended with a pace of 10:57. My goal for this half marathon is to stay between a pace of 10:30 and 11:00 per mile. Even though I did not feel as though I had a good run, I still met that goal. I still have a chance to finish the whole 13.1 miles in 2:30:00 or less. If I got to an 11:00 pace, based on this run, I only had 55 more minutes to go and that would put me finishing in 2:24:00 (roughly). I have to remember that I am training for something I have never done before. That makes me very proud of my milestones. Even if I feel like I am moving at the speed of slug, at least I am doing it! I am also reminded that those middle of the week runs are so very important to this training. Remember, you do not know better about fitness you have not conquered. Listen to the gurus and take all the advice you can and try your best to get it done!
Here is to the next workout. Until then...
April :)
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