Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Saturday: 3 miles
Sunday: 8 miles (!)
Tuesday - a reminder not to leave work late
My plan to run on Tuesday morning was undermined by a more attractive offer to have breakfast with a friend. My intention to take a break from work and run in the afternoon didn't materialize (this was a not even a realistic plan - I shouldn't have even finished thinking that thought). So when I left work at 9 p.m. I had the choice of going to the gym near work, or the gym I prefer nearer home - I chose the latter. And arriving at 9:15 I learned they close at 9:30. But helpfully the gym near work is open till 10:30. Willfully, I got back on the highway, drove back toward work and got in my run. I finished my 3 miles at 10 minute pace, just as they were closing for the night.
Wednesday - music!
I had a great 4-mile run in the evening after Marathon 101. I warmed up at slow 12-minute pace, ran 2 miles at an 11-minute pace, ran the third mile at a 10-minute pace, then alternated between 10-11 minutes for the final mile.
The biggest change I made in this run was that my iPod was playing music. I never listen to music while I'm running, I listen to podcasts. I subscribe to them faithfully and look forward to hearing them when I get to the gym. It makes me laugh to look at the other treadmills and wonder if any of those guys are listening to Meet the Press, or Washington Week with Gwen Eiffel. Tonight, however, I was newly in possession of a downloaded album that I really wanted to listen to. And even though it was folky, slow, meandering, cerebral singing (not a contender for the next Jock Jams compilation) it was awesome! I focused less on the minutes and tenths of miles ticking past and just enjoyed the run - actually just enjoyed it. It was wild! I'm not trading in my podcasts, but this opens new possibilities.
Thursday - it's just routine
I went to the gym near work in the morning before going in to work. This run felt like checking a task off a list - I wasn't excited about, I didn't think much about it, I just did because I knew I had to. I felt pretty tired and little cranky afterward - maybe it was the combination of running 4 miles at night and 3 miles in the morning without enough food or sleep in between.
Saturday - closing time, again
Friday night was unexpectedly long and eventful and Saturday morning was the annual Penguin Plunge, followed by burgers and napping. Mid-afternoon I looked up the closing time of the gym (7:00 p.m.) and calculated that I'd need a little more than a half-hour to get in my 3 miles -- enough time to nap a little longer on the couch. Around 5:45 I forced myself out the door, got to the gym and found every blessed treadmill occupied. I stretched, I watched, I lurked and I waited for a treadmill to open up as the minutes ticked by. It was 6:30 p.m. when a very nice older woman finished her walking routine (hey, I figured, everyone deserve to workout without their pace being rushed or judged) and I had just enough time to finish my 3 miles before they tossed me out.
Sunday - this was BIG
Since first looking at the training schedule, this weekend has stood out as a milestone for me. I have never run farther than 6.5 miles in my life, and this 8-mile run was going to be the first test to burn past that marker. The 6-mile runs in the previous weekends had ok at best, but not necessarily fabulous in a confidence-boosting way.
Using the super-useful Map 24 I charted a route in the North End that started with a 3-mile loop and end with a 5-mile out-and-back run. The forecast said 26 degrees and the sun was out but dodgy, the wind was mild -- this might be one of the better days for outdoor running we've had in a long, long time.
At a mile in, I was tired and rationalizing that tomorrow, Monday, is a day off and I could do this run then instead of now. I kept going, a pretty slow jogging pace and finished off the 3 miles feeling ok. I stopped back the car to adjust layers of clothing and pick up a water bottle, than took off on the 5-mile stretch. It was a particularly interesting neighborhood to run in, but it's an area that I've only driven and never walked, so it was interesting to look more closely at the houses and markets. And every pedestrian I passed gave me a jolt of pride: I am running. I am running. I am RUNNING. Merely months ago the thought of doing this would be fairly classified as a thought. It would be more of a notion, an awareness that other people (who are crazy) go out and run 8 miles in the snow. But now I am among them, and that feels good. It also feels cold, but mostly good.
I did have to take a break, probably around 6 or 7 miles, because the cold was getting to me. By now I was running in the shade, sky had clouded over and I felt the chill in my knees. I walked a few laps around a convenience store to warm up and find something new in my iPod to keep me company for the final stretch. I'd like to be able to say that I set out for 8 miles and ran it without stopping, but I think until the weather changes, that's not realistic. I'm very encouraged, though, that my endurance wasn't flagging - I felt like I could still go farther. Which is good, because next Sunday calls for 10 miles. Lordy.
