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Saturday, March 19, 2011

3-19-2011 Run

This week I was supposed to run 15 miles total, with the longest run of five miles. But I was out of town in St. Louis on business for the whole week and it was difficult to find time to run. I managed to get two runs in during the week, of 3.2 miles and 3.5 miles. To make up for the lower mileage (basically being short one run for the week), these two runs were quite hilly. And it showed in my time, barely making miles at 11:30.

Today, I did cheat a little bit on the long run - I went six miles instead of the five. Don't tell my trainer!

The weather was really nice in St. Louis; the temp was 57 on Tuesday, and 71 on Thursday, so it was shorts and short sleeves for both days! I felt so much lighter! I even had to remove my hat on the 71 degree day. I might have to start wearing a visor for the warmer days - I need to have something to help block the sun from my eyes, but I need to vent the heat as well.

Lately, when I start running, I've been feeling really crappy during the first 15 minutes or so, to a point where I have to walk for a little while and I consider turning back. But then something happens. My muscles get into a rhythm, I start to feel really good - and VERY content. Then I don't want to stop. Runner's High, perhaps? I put on my FaceBook post one time "Why does the first mile always suck?" One of my runner friends replied "It makes all the rest of the miles worth it". Another friend wrote "It's the first mile that keeps everyone else on the couch. Keep it up". I think I might make that my motto.

The most frustrating part is my speed - or lack thereof. Like today, I ran 6 miles in 66 minutes. For those of you are mathematically declined, that averages 11 minute miles. Now I did have to wait for a little while on three separate occasions to cross busy roads, so maybe my average was 10:45 or something like that. But what I noticed this whole week was that I did NOT get that runner's high feeling. What I also noticed is that my heart rate is dropping considerably. I used to be up in the mid 170s, then it dropped to the mid 160s - today, it stayed right around 158 or so. I feel like I really had to push myself to get it to 165. So perhaps I'm able to run harder than I think... now that I write this, I might just use one of my shorter runs this coming week to push myself a bit. Or, next week Saturday is listed as a five mile run, so perhaps I can do it then. I'll have to give this some thought.

I'm also combating the "crappy first mile" feeling by taking it slowly to start with. This goes along with not pushing myself hard enough.

I also tried out some polyester socks that I received for Christmas. I haven't been using them during the cold weather because polyester just isn't very warm. I've been sticking with cotton. But now that the weather is warmer, I'm trying them out. So far, I like them.

For the six mile run on March 19:

Temperature: 38 degrees. Clothing: Polyester cap; polyester ear warmer; long sleeve shirt; running jacket; running gloves; shorts; track pants; polyester socks. Pre run: ate a banana. Post run: My special recipe protein shake. I felt very comfortable during my run. My hands were a bit warm - I might have to find some thinner gloves.

Run rating: 2 (out of 3) for not getting runner's high
Confidence: Up (because of the increased distance, the hill runs, and not having to walk during any of my runs this week)

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