Well, today was a little bit up and down... literally and mentally.
The goal I'm chasing (now that I've gotten up to running 30 minutes straight) is to increase the mileage (rather than worry about getting faster at my miles). In order to increase the mileage on the route that I've been running, I ran uphill for the first quarter mile of my run. Thanks to living in the beautiful Green Mountain State of Vermont, finding relatively flat runs is nearly impossible. But, I try and look at that as a benefit - I get hill training intervals by default, where other athletes have to schedule them in and seek them out.
What's a quarter of a mile, you say? That's like nothing! Right? 400m! No problemo. Yeah, well, I got up the hill just fine, but then was pretty sure I was going to die for the next 10 minutes of my run. Like, I felt like I was back 6 weeks ago, with the way that I was struggling. I felt so discouraged, like I couldn't quite breath right, I didn't have the oomph in my legs... I just couldn't get in the groove. Then, after those first ten minutes, it still didn't get in the track that I usually am able to get in. Like, this is a run that I run all the time (with the exclusion of The Hill), and I run the 30 minutes, and I'm good to go until like the last few minutes where I have to start pushing myself. Not today. Today, I was pushing myself all the way through. Hard. I wanted to walk. Badly. I didn't (proud of self for that), but had to scale back to a real slow jog a few times, to compensate. Just was an inordinately hard go-round today.
I got back from my run (and since we're about honesty here in this blog), I was so frustrated I wanted to cry. While this training has been hard, I have been consistently maintaining a level or progressing forward (running a minute longer, lifting a few more pounds, etc.), and this was the first time that I felt like I had slipped backwards. Like, I couldn't tell you why - I've had my rest days, I've eaten well, gotten the water in, etc. - but it was just brutal. Maybe more so than in the first few weeks of my running, because now I *expected* that I should be able to go a certain length of time at a certain energy level. And I couldn't.
BUT. For what it's worth, I did extend my run today and here's how it went:
Distance: 3.0 mi (on the dot!)
Time: 31.5 minutes
Pace: 10.5 min/mi.
That was a little surprising for me to figure out, as my typical pace is slower than that... so, maybe I was wearing myself out a little bit. Who knows. No excuses... just is what it is. As my most wonderful Trainer Guru (TG) said, in reaction to my frustration:
TG: Some days are like that. It happens. Rest, eat well, ice bath. :-)
Having someone back you like that is invaluable. The reminder that it's not a big deal, that a bad day is okay once in a while, etc. is extremely important.
AND... I came across MScan's blog (from Spartan Race), with an excellent quote that got me laughing, and reminded me that we're all human - even the veterans have a bad day - it's not just me. She notes on her blog: "By the way, I still run like a whale-human hybrid!" LOL. That is exactly what I was feeling like today, and I don't have anywhere near the experience that she has. That was an excellent pick-me-up.
SO... I got home from my epic awful run and rallied a bit, so I could get my Lifting piece out of the way ('cuz I missed it yesterday... oops.). Took it down a round, as I will have to lift hard tomorrow, and I had already run today... but still got the job done, damnit.
The WOD:
- Upright Row x6
- High Pull Snatch x6
- Squat Push Press x6
- Bent Over Row x6
- High Pull Snatch x6
3 Rounds, with 21 pound DB's.
AND (see yesterday's blog), I attempted my Renegade Rows. Woot! Did my goal of 3, 3 count rows. I do need to find a little bit lighter weight for that to be a successful, prolonged exercise. But, HEY. I'm a stronger than I gave myself credit for.
And that, I think, is an excellent way to wrap up today's verbose post.
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