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This past Saturday I set out for my long training run of 7ish miles with high expectations. You see, 7 milers tend to be some of my favorite runs; they seem to be my “sweet distance”. Let me rewind for a minute.
Friday night I ended up staying up a little later than I wanted to watching Friends. I was nearing the end of season 10, so I decided to stay up and watch the finale, which I hadn’t seen in a year or two. I tear up or straight up cry every time- it’s so well done! I ended up getting much less sleep than I had wanted to, so getting up to run felt a bit difficult.
I had a small breakfast and read a bit of “Me Before You” while snuggled up on my couch. Maybe that was a bad move, because I REALLY didn’t want to go out on my run. Honestly, the only thing that helped motivate me was knowing the mileage I had on my schedule.
The temperature was about 38 degrees when I headed out, which was pretty fantastic (although for my first few walk breaks I put my hands under my arms to try to keep them a bit warmer. The first two miles I struggled to get myself under 12 minutes per mile. My legs felt heavy and tough to turn over- I don’t know why, except that I’ve increased my walking and biking mileage a bit. Then I hit a solid groove. Unlike last week’s run, I didn’t feel like I needed to count down every three minute run period- the time was flying by.
ALL the pink.
I took a few shot bloks around mile 4 (cran razz, one of my favorites!) along with some water and then went on my way. The sun was shining, and I had podcasts going as I took in the scenery. It was a beautiful day for a run, and the time honestly flew by.
I was able to negative split the run, and my last few miles clocked in under 12 minutes per mile, which I was happy about. I think it just took me a little time to loosen up. I noticed on Saturday that I’ve been pretty tense during runs the past two months because I’m waiting for an injury to flare up. My legs (shins/posterior tibial tendinitis) have felt a little off since the end of September (I took most of October off running, had a half marathon on November 1st where I set an awesome new PR, ran a bit more in October, and then only ran a few miles each month in December and February). The last two runs especially I’ve been waiting to land on my foot and have pain shoot my the inside of my leg… and it hasn’t. I’m thankful for that, but I noticed on this weekend’s run that this fear has taken away some of my enjoyment of training.
It’s also been difficult to transition back to training alone. I met Melissa last April during the Carmel Half Marathon, and except for a handful of runs, I ran almost every mile the rest of 2014 (including most of my races) and the beginning of 2015 with her. The last few long runs I’ve once again done alone (due to all sorts of scheduling things that keep getting in the way), and that’s been different. It’s not a bad thing, but I’ve noticed that it changes the mental game of runs when I’m alone.
I ran 7.25 beautiful miles on Saturday. The weather was great and the run felt, mostly, great as well. 2015 has brought a different schedule and changes in my training, and it’s taken me a bit of time to adjust to that, but it finally feels like I’m settling into training once again.
Sounds like a great run, fantastic job!!! Have a great week 🙂
Thank you! Have a great week as well 🙂
It sounds like you are adjusting well to your new training schedule. I always think it’s good and important to switch things up from time to time and keep it interesting. Glad to hear your 7+ mile run went really well – nice weather always helps! 🙂
It is good to mix things up a bit from time to time, so I know that this is definitely good. It’s just been a weird adjustment period. Nice weather definitely does help!