I Ran the Run : Take II

Howdy, "there's a snake in my boot", well not really, but the kids are watching Toy Story (again & again) and that's what I keep hearing.  

*Weigh-in*

Sunday is off to a good start with a weigh-in.  I won't say it was a great weigh-in or a bad one, it was just a weigh-in.  I lost 100 grams this morning which is less than the weight of my pj's, but a loss is a loss and I will take it.

*The Run : Take II*   The Run : Take I can be read here

Not looking excited?  I wasn't!  My head just wasn't with it today

Well I did my run again this morning, but I am sad to say that my head wasn't really in the right place for 5 ks today.  I didn't get up when I should have (I was too cosy and warm) and when I finally got around to the run it was 8am.  As I stepped onto the treadmill my silly head said (to myself) - I should have finished this 2 hours ago!  That thought there should have signaled a warning for me, but I just ignored it and got on.

I started at a slow 6 for a few minutes just to warm up a little and then I went up to 8.  I feel really comfortable running at 8 now.  When I first started I ran at 7 - 7.3, but 8 is now my go-to speed.  Not too fast and not too slow - juuuuust right.  After about 300 mts I upped the incline to 6% (still on a speed of 8) and just decided to see how far I could go on my hill.  Seeing I forgot my hill completely last time I wanted to get it out of the way nice and early in the run.  I amazed myself by making it to 1 km on the 6 incline.

Top left - incline / Top right - speed / Middle right - distance

 

After that first kilometer my legs were really tired.  Normally my mind just forces me to push through it, but today nothing felt right.  My heart wanted to be there doing the run, but my legs and brain just weren't interested so I had to rely on my heart to get me through the 5 kms and I knew then that it was going to be a long run.

I desperately didn't want to give up so I kept plodding along.  I set the incline to 2% and just got on with it at a steady, slowish speed.  I let my mind wander away from the screen.  I didn't want to focus on distance or time, I didn't really care how far I had gone or how long I had been running, I just wanted to finish the 5 kms.  I actually found myself thinking about my MDC Fun Run that I ran outdoors and remembered a few things I had learned along that run :

• I was running for 'fun'
• It's my fun run and I will run it the best I can
• If I have to stop for a toilet break I can do that
• If I need to slow down or even walk I can do that too
• I'm not competing in the Olympics so it doesn't matter if I am slow

Remembering these things is what I think helped me finish the 5 kms today.  I wanted to beat my time from my first attempt, but at the halfway mark I was already over by a minute or 2 so I knew that wasn't going to happen and I started to get a little anxious about the whole thing - I told you my head just wasn't in the right place today.  Then I remembered something Janae (The Hungry Runner Girl) had said - "There will always be another race"  Janae is so right, especially when running inside on a treadmill.  I can do this same 5 kms over and over and try to beat my time each 'race'.  There is no pressure here, I can take my time, all I need to do is finish.

Thanks to Janae's (always) awesome advice I managed to finish my run and feel good about it.  I don't care that I was a little slower today because I achieved something that 6 months ago, I never thought would be possible.  I ran for over 40 mins and completed 5 kms in the process so today whether I beat my time or ran as fast as Flash Gordon didn't matter - I still succeeded.

Nice & sweaty - at least my face doesn't match my shirt today

*Comparison Pics*

Beetroot Steel - Zoolander eat your heart out!

I also completed Week 2, Day 2 of the 200 squats program.  These were an effort, I really, really didn't want to do these.  Half way through the second set I thought I just can't do it, I will do them later and then I remembered how resentful I felt of myself for not getting up earlier and doing my run first thing in the morning and I didn't want to feel like that again so I forced myself to keep going.  After the 3rd set everything seemed so much easier and I powered on to the end.

*HRM Stats*

• Duration : 56.49 mins
• Calories : 611
• Average HR : 155
• Maximum HR : 196
• In Zone : 23.40 mins
• Distance : 5 kms

Have an awesome Sunday :)