I was watching the news while I ate a cliff bar and drinking my energy drink before my long run this morning. I saw that rain, with possible thunder and lightning, was going to be moving in the area in about an hour. I was hoping to run 11 or 12 miles this weekend, but knew that I may not get in 2 hours worth of running if the bad weather was moving in. I decided I better run in the neighborhood so that I would be able to get home fairly quickly if the weather suddenly turned bad. When I first set out it was rather humid, but about 3 miles into my run it started getting noticeably cooler. The wind picked up a little and the clouds were definitely gathering. Around 4.5 miles it started raining on me. At first it was sprinkles, but it increased slightly as I ran. Luckily, it did not become a downpour at any point while I was running, but it was more than a light sprinkle. At 7 miles, I saw lightning off in the distance. At 7.5 miles I hear thunder and decided I better finish up my run. I ended up getting 8 miles in. My average pace was 11:02. My pace increased a little as the temperature and humidity dropped and with the fear of a downpour looming over me. Mile 1 was a pace of 11:06. I purposely kept slowing myself down in the first mile to maintain a pace slower than 11. I have a tendency to speed up at the beginning sometimes, and then I will tire out. Mile 2 was 11:22, but this mile was uphill the whole way. (Not a major hill, just a long continualy incline). Mile 3 was 11:10, with rolling hills. Then mile 4, as the weather was definitely taking a turn for the worse, I dropped my pace to 10:59, then mile 5 was 10:54 as I was beginning to get rained on. Mile 6 was 10:56 and mile 7 was 10:57. At this point I knew I ws going to have to stop before 11 or 12 miles, so I knew it was okay to keep this slightly increased pace. Mile 8 was 10:51 as I hurried to finish when the lighning and thunder was beginning. Several of the plans rotate between a week of increased mileage then a week at a slightly shorter mileage for recovery, followed by a bigger increase again the next week. Though I'm disappointed I only got 8 miles in, but it make me feel better that there are plans with an increase/recovery/increase plan. I also know I am still ahead of the true beginner plan, so I will be able to complete my half.
On Thursday I completed a 2 mile run with an average pace of 10:14. I'm trying to use the 2 mile day to really push my pace. I ran the first mile at 10:25 and the second mile at 10:02. My legs had felt like lead all week after the 11 mile run on Sunday. I was glad to finally pick up the pace a little, especially in that second mile. I was also happy today that I was able to pick up the pace as I got into my run. Maybe having a shorter "long run" will help the runs the rest of the week. Then next weekend I will plan for a 12 mile run.
Feeling great that I got all my runs in this week even with the first week of school. It is difficult getting up so early to get the runs in before school, but on the other hand it is nice not having to try to run after school when I am tired for the long day and when it is scourching hot out. I think when the weather cools, I will go back to running in the afternoon for my midweek runs, though.
I had a slight drop in my weight after my long run last Sunday, but it climbed right back up as the week went on. I found myself stress eating a little after being at work all day. I'm going to have to really watch this. My weight this morning is 167 after weighing 164 on Tuesday. Yes, I weigh myself daily. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but I feel like it keeps me accountable. I would still like to get my weight below 158 (the weight Weight Watchers says I should be below). I'm more focused on getting my running and workout in and making sure I eat enough to have the energy for my running than worrying too much about my weight. I at salads for lunch all week to see if that would help. It just seemed like I was really hungry at night, though. At least I've been maintaining. All summer I have kept my weight between 164-169. I have gone up and down between this 5 pound range without worrying too much about what I'm eating. I am eating differently than I did before overall, though. I would rather hover between 150-155, though. Actually, I would really like to be 145-149 and make it below the 150 mark. I'm going to get through this half first, then refocus on where I want to go with the weight.
So happy that my sister has started her own blog and has decided to train for a 10K. Check out her blog on the blogs I follow. She ran her first 5K with me back in June, and we are registered for a 5K together in September. After that we plan to register for a 10K in October, and then I will have the half marathon in October, too. I'm so happy that we are getting healthy together and can encourage and inspire each other to keep going!
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