A Real Runner

      14 Comments on A Real Runner

I am so behind on everything.  That is just the story of my life these days.

I should have picked tomatoes tonight, but it was raining and I skipped it.  So, my tomatoes are languishing in the garden, waiting for the damn rabbits to come steal them. 😛 I logged into my Google Reader today and saw that I have SIXTY-FIVE new posts to read.  Eek!!  I also have lots of pictures I need to process.  Argh!

I will get caught up, though, I will.  Hopefully before the snow flies. 😉

I need to get to bed, because I have been losing a lot of sleep this last week (mostly because of tomatoes), but I did want to quickly mention the run I had last night.  I normally do my “short” run (two miles) on Thursday mornings, but because I have my 10k on Saturday, I realized on my way home from work last night that I needed to get my run done Wednesday night to give myself the recommended two full days of rest before my race.

It seemed kind of crazy to do a run on a warm August Wednesday night, what with it being 83 degrees.  BUT, once I set my mind to it, I was determined, so even though we had to take DS#1 to a hockey practice, I quickly changed into my running gear while my husband got the hockey bag in my car, and we managed to get to practice on-time.

Once I arrived, I let my husband get DS#1 ready and I prepared for my run. While I was on my way out, one of the coaches saw me in my get-up and asked if I was going for a run.  I must admit I felt pretty cool in being able to say yes, I was indeed going for a run. Because runners are cool, you know. 😉

The coach then informed me that there was a nice trail that ran right next to the rink. I was thrilled to learn this, because my other option was to run through the neighborhood, which wouldn’t be so bad except that I wasn’t sure of the mileage.  The trail was a nice, straight, north-to-south run, so I knew I could just go a mile north and turn around to come back.

I followed his directions and headed out behind the rink and over the bridge to easily find the trail.  I started out in in the sub-10 range, which was my plan; I knew that for this two-mile run, I really wanted to keep below a 10-minute mile, despite the heat. I did pretty well to start, but I got a bit tripped up about a quarter-mile into the run when I got to the main road and realized I couldn’t just run across five lanes of traffic! I didn’t want to stop, but I had to run back and forth on the sidewalk a bit to keep moving, and that slowed my pace down quite a bit.

Once traffic cleared and I got across, I did really well.  I can’t deny that it was kind of fun to be running out in the open, in the evening with lots of people around to see me.  A few runners passed me going in the opposite direction, and I smiled and waved.  The trail runs by a creek, but within view of a neighborhood, and it was neat to be so–well, visible. As I ran, I thought, “Look at me! I’m running! Out in the open! Less active people are probably looking at me right now and thinking, ‘I hate that bitch for being so damned energetic.'” 😉

I ran a mile and then turned around, and despite my challenge at the main road, I kept it at a sub-10 pace. Once I turned around, I saw my pace get really good–I briefly saw myself in the eights! At that point, I determined that I was going to shoot for a sub-9:20 pace for my full final mile–something I’d never done before.  I pushed and pushed and pushed myself, concentrating on my breathing and just putting one foot in front of the other.

I almost did it, too, but “heart-attack hill” got the best of me.  At about the 1.75 mile mark, I had to go back up the hill that came down from the main road. I knew it was coming, since I’d gone down it on the way out, and I did my best to psyche myself up for it when I saw it coming into view on the way back, but I just couldn’t sustain my pace once I’d gotten to the top, and I had to slow down just a bit.  Only a bit, though, and then I pushed myself once again.

When I got to the main road, I chose to turn and go down the sidewalk to the traffic light, hoping for a lucky green. Alas, this was not the case, so instead of stopping or running in place, I turned back north and went into the neighborhood via the sidewalk.  I was so, so tired by this time, I was glancing at my Garmin with every 1/20th of a mile, willing the run to end, but eventually, after turning and crossing the street when the sidewalk ended on the west side, I finally made it to two miles–with a 9:22 lap pace! 😀

Not quite sub-9:20, but damn close! And definitely my fastest mile since I began running almost 4 months ago.

I was so, so, so tired when I got done, I did something I always envision I’m going to do when I’m struggling at the end of my run, but never actually did until yesterday: I collapsed on the ground, flat on my back! I struggled to breath at that point, and sadly, I had no water with me, so I just had to lay there and try to catch my breath, there next to the city tennis courts.

Yep, I even took a picture. 😉 I’m embarrassed to say there were three drivers who slowed down and called out to me to make sure I was okay.  I waved them all off with as much energy as I could muster.  Thankfully, no one stopped to try to give me CPR or anything. 😉

I was very proud of myself for this run.  For the first time since I started running in mid-April, I actually felt like a real runner.  When I got back to the rink, all hot and sweaty, one of the dads asked incredulously, “Did you just go for a run?!”  I can’t deny that it felt really good to answer, “Yep!” without any hesitation. I may have imagined it, but I swear a few of the dads looked at me with a new found respect. 😀

I’m hopeful that this new record lap-pace bodes well for my 10k on Saturday.  I don’t want to break any world records or anything, but I would like to be at least in the middle of the pack this time, versus toward the back. 😛 Wish me luck–just two more days!  I can’t wait to not only run and hopefully beat my previous pace, but also–and more importantly–to be there when my two boys run in their first race. It will be a big day in our family!

Thanks so much for reading.  See you after the race! 🙂

 

14 thoughts on “A Real Runner

  1. Jenn

    “I hate that bitch for being so damned energetic.” Yeah that, Steph! Congrats on getting that run in and hurrah for the kudos you were getting. I giggled at the thought of drivers stopping to adminster CPR to you. Good luck on Saturday!

    Reply

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