Progress Report: Week 9

Sooo...2/28-3/6.  Yikes.

I'd like to say that this was a bad week, but it wasn't.  I didn't get in the mileage or time that I wanted, but I got alot of useful information, help and support from friends and family.  And it always helps to know that there are people in your corner.

Monday 2/28- 31 minutes and around 2.5 miles on the treadmill.  Still at a 12:45 pace.  I got a call from Jayna's school and I had to go get her early.  Frustrating that I had to leave early.  I felt good when I left, but I felt like I didn't finish the run.

On Monday, I expressed on Facebook that I was having a little trouble.  Okay, ALOT of trouble.  I'm just still trying to figure things out.  I got alot of great feedback from a couple of running friends and it has been a tremendous help.  One piece of advice is to run on the treadmill at a 1% incline to account for wind resistance.  That advice was invaluable.  When I added the incline I noticed that the run immediately became more similar to an outdoor run in terms of my hips and knees.

Thursday 3/3- 19 minutes and around 1.5 miles through the neighborhood.  I originally thought I'd gone further, but after driving it, it was around 1.5.  That's better as it keeps me on pace.  More learning on this day.  It was still a little chilly out and my lungs....hurt.  My muscles and my brain were okay. 

What I took away from this run is that I canNOT map out runs.  I just need to...run.  Like Forrest. :)  Run length of 35 minutes, run 17 minutes out and 17 minutes back. 

Saturday 3/5- Long run day.  61 minutes and 4.65 miles. Incline at 1%.  That felt good!!  Around 13:00 mile pace, so just a tad slower than usual.  But I'm okay with that because I RAN FOR AN HOUR.  I did stop for around 90 seconds in the middle to catch my breath, but that's all!!  My goal was 70 minutes and as soon as I stepped off that treadmill at 61 minutes, I was kicking myself in the ass.  Just. 9. More. Minutes.  I'll get there.

Lesson from this one??  You just know there's a lesson.  Focus on the minutes.  I hid the miles on the display.  I focused ONLY on minutes.  And it was sort of liberating.  I ran at the incline and varied my pace depending on how I felt instead of running a flat pace the entire time.  And I think it was a success.

I was on schedule to run Sunday, but that didn't happen.  Conference class preparation and a sick child kept me away.  So, I'm including Monday 3/7 because it was supposed to be my last 35 minute run of Week 9.

Monday 3/7- 33 minutes outdoors.  Distance unknown.  To be honest, I don't even remember the route so I'm not even sure I could drive it or map it at this point.  Difficult but felt good.  Less stress on my knees and hips.  Pretty uneventful except for some heckling from some teenage boys. :)

Lesson:  I canNOT run in my neighborhood.  Not yet.  I live in a neighborhood that is comprised of only 2 streets and a series of courts.  It seems that I can't get far enough away from my "safety zone" (my house) to be motivated enough to run longer times.  I basically have to run the circle that is my neighborhood forcing me to pass my house every 1.2 miles or so.  I know myself too well...if I get too tired or frustrated, I'll just...go home.  So, running at the park it is.  I'll try that a few times and see what happens.

For those of you that know me well, this is a HUGE lifestyle change for me.  But I feel really good about it.  I'll stick with it and keep trying.  And I'll continue to work on the trial and error system until I find something that works for me.

Up this week-3/7 to 3/13- Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday for 40 minutes and Saturday for 80 minutes.  Yep, 80.  Have faith, people.