Yesterday I woke up and decided that I needed all day to mentally prepare myself for what I was going to do after work. I drank water, ate breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, and an afternoon snack. I told myself over and over again that I could do it. So, at 4:22 I went to the restroom and changed my clothes. I filled my camelbak with a bottle of water, got my things together, and put them in my truck. I stretched for about 12 minutes. I made sure I had my keys, sunglasses, phone, and earbuds.
What was this adventure I was about to embark on...my first ever 10 mile run. I had been told over and over that this run was a pivotal point in my training for my half marathon. I walked about .15 of a mile and prepared myself to find 10 miles on campus. I didn't want to re-run any route so it posed a challenge to try and run every street I could before repeating my terrain. I started out okay...completing the first mile in 9:56. A bit fast for my long haul ahead, feeling good I decided to slow down a bit and continue on my journey. Mile 2 brought me a pace of 10:16 and mile 3 I was at 10:33 (this is close to where I should have finished mile 1 and maintained it for at least 6-7 miles). Mile 4 was a 10:43 and mile 5 was 10:49. This is when I decided that I wanted to slow down and drink some fluids. I was working on mile 6 and my hydration when I realized I had slowed to an 11:49 for mile 6 and a 12:25 for mile 7.
At this point I was moving slower than I wanted to, so I picked up the pace a bit. I began to notice at about 7.5 miles that my hips were beginning to ache...right along with my knees. I told myself, "Just 2.5 more miles April, you can do it". I completed mile 8 in 11:45 and mile 9 in 11:57. With one mile to go I told myself to pick it up a bit and finish strong. I ran mile 10 in 11:27. At least I gained 30 seconds back in the last mile. I completed my run in 1:52:17. My goal was to run between a 10:30 and an 11:00 mile consistently. I finished with a pace of 11:13...by no means terrible at all! This was my first ever 10 mile run! I was only 3:17 off of my target time. My overall goal is to run the 13.1 miles in 2:30:00 or less. My time still gives me 37:43 until I reach the 2 and a half hour mark to run 3.1 miles. Now I know this seems like a breeze considering I can run a 5K in under 30 minutes...but not after already running 10 miles! You can view my route here.
I am very proud of my dedication and commitment to this training. Today I am sore, walking a bit slow, and my hip still hurt for a good 2 hours at the beginning of my day. But, through this pain will come strength and with strength I can continue to build endurance and stamina. I have to remember to maintain my pace and be consistent. Hydrating myself also helped. For the first time after a run, any run, I was actually hungry and ate. Usually I am not hungry or thirsty, which is not good for your body. I took today off to rest and found some great warm-up exercises that will help with my hip and knee pain. I read an article in Triathlete Magazine that the key to good long runs is a strong butt. Seriously, a weak butt can attribute to hamstring pain, cramping, and possible long term injury.
Check out the following article and videos to help you with your training!
A-Better-Pre-Run-Warm-Up-5-Moves-in-20-Minutes
Here's to the next workout. Until then...
April :)
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