Sunday, February 01, 2009
Learning to Fly
Today's Run: 5.0 miles
Run Time: 55:17 minutes
Total Miles to Date: 929.3
Thoughts on the Run:
Today was a beautiful run.
For the first time this training cycle, I was able to wear shorts on my outside run. It was a nice and perfect 55 degree Fahrenheit with a clear sky and beautiful sunshine. I wasn't sure if I would make my run because we had such a full schedule today. I ended up sleeping in and catching up on plenty of sleep. I've been very disciplined about getting up and training, but that has meant sacrificing a little bit of sleep to wake up in the early hours to get my training done. Today, I slept in and instead of my typical 5 - 6 hours of sleep, received 10 hours of sleep! It was great.
We shifted our schedule around a little bit and I decided to go running in the afternoon. It was the perfect time of day. I knew because the sun was out and the weather was warmer that I should consider taking along hydrating. I usually wear basketball-style shorts that have no pockets, but I have a pouch that straps around my waist and can hold two water bottles. This is what I use to train with until I need over 32 oz of water, then I switch to a hydration pack that I wear on my back.
I took the two "essentials" with me: a driver's license for identification and a phone for communication. Then it was one bottle of water and I was on my way.
I still struggle for the first mile but I've learned it's because I need to warm up so I push through it and make it to the point where I'm warmed up and feel good. The run was just pleasant ... I had great tunes playing in my iPod, there was a cool breeze blowing and I felt on top. I was so excited to be exercising on my schedule and to not have missed a workout.
Of course, "missed" is a relative term. I've certainly created compromises, but I believe that is a key to success. When I doubled-up a workout the other day, instead of a high-impact run, I cross-trained on the recumbent bike. My cross-training philosophy is simple: I train the same duration as I would if I were running, so a 3 mile run would be a 30 minute bike ride for my cross-training. Yesterday, instead of a scheduled short run, I had a father-daughter date and we square danced for an hour and a half. It was a great time and an example of combining fitness with family.
Today's run I felt like I was learning to fly. I say that because despite some hills that always challenge me, I just kept feeling better and better. Unlike the runs I journaled over the fall of 2008 (not so long ago) that seemed more like survival than training, I've reached the point where I feel the benefits of being fit and enjoy the challenge of pushing my limits. I just had a rush going up one hill where the combination of focusing on the rhythm of the run, keeping my cadence as the hill tried to slow me down with gravity, listening to the music and just enjoying the sunshine and the breeze ... it felt wonderful.
The end of the run became a bit of struggle as the sun started to bear down on me. Fortunately I brought plenty of liquid and was able to just focus on the goal. The last hill really became "counting power poles" meaning my goal was never the summit of the hill - it was the next power pole, then the next one, then the next one and so on until I reached the top.
The best news is that at the end of the run, I was able to finish strong and not feel "spent".
Now I'm going to relax and enjoy the remains of the day. My daughter is at choir practice and when she returns we have a movie date and then a nice splurge meal for the Super Bowl celebration.
Take care,
Run Time: 55:17 minutes
Total Miles to Date: 929.3
Thoughts on the Run:
Today was a beautiful run.
For the first time this training cycle, I was able to wear shorts on my outside run. It was a nice and perfect 55 degree Fahrenheit with a clear sky and beautiful sunshine. I wasn't sure if I would make my run because we had such a full schedule today. I ended up sleeping in and catching up on plenty of sleep. I've been very disciplined about getting up and training, but that has meant sacrificing a little bit of sleep to wake up in the early hours to get my training done. Today, I slept in and instead of my typical 5 - 6 hours of sleep, received 10 hours of sleep! It was great.
We shifted our schedule around a little bit and I decided to go running in the afternoon. It was the perfect time of day. I knew because the sun was out and the weather was warmer that I should consider taking along hydrating. I usually wear basketball-style shorts that have no pockets, but I have a pouch that straps around my waist and can hold two water bottles. This is what I use to train with until I need over 32 oz of water, then I switch to a hydration pack that I wear on my back.
I took the two "essentials" with me: a driver's license for identification and a phone for communication. Then it was one bottle of water and I was on my way.
I still struggle for the first mile but I've learned it's because I need to warm up so I push through it and make it to the point where I'm warmed up and feel good. The run was just pleasant ... I had great tunes playing in my iPod, there was a cool breeze blowing and I felt on top. I was so excited to be exercising on my schedule and to not have missed a workout.
Of course, "missed" is a relative term. I've certainly created compromises, but I believe that is a key to success. When I doubled-up a workout the other day, instead of a high-impact run, I cross-trained on the recumbent bike. My cross-training philosophy is simple: I train the same duration as I would if I were running, so a 3 mile run would be a 30 minute bike ride for my cross-training. Yesterday, instead of a scheduled short run, I had a father-daughter date and we square danced for an hour and a half. It was a great time and an example of combining fitness with family.
Today's run I felt like I was learning to fly. I say that because despite some hills that always challenge me, I just kept feeling better and better. Unlike the runs I journaled over the fall of 2008 (not so long ago) that seemed more like survival than training, I've reached the point where I feel the benefits of being fit and enjoy the challenge of pushing my limits. I just had a rush going up one hill where the combination of focusing on the rhythm of the run, keeping my cadence as the hill tried to slow me down with gravity, listening to the music and just enjoying the sunshine and the breeze ... it felt wonderful.
The end of the run became a bit of struggle as the sun started to bear down on me. Fortunately I brought plenty of liquid and was able to just focus on the goal. The last hill really became "counting power poles" meaning my goal was never the summit of the hill - it was the next power pole, then the next one, then the next one and so on until I reached the top.
The best news is that at the end of the run, I was able to finish strong and not feel "spent".
Now I'm going to relax and enjoy the remains of the day. My daughter is at choir practice and when she returns we have a movie date and then a nice splurge meal for the Super Bowl celebration.
Take care,
Labels: running
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