Saturday, July 07, 2007

Sometimes Slow is OK

First of all, Happy Belated July 4th to everyone!

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I hope everyone's day was a good as mine. I got to spend it wih my husband, stepson (who is visiting from California for three weeks) and a few good friends at their new house on a lake. It was a great time. Here are some more pictures of our fun-filled day and fireworks extravaganza!

Training this week has been a little slower than usual. With Dakota (my stepson) coming in and the holiday, regular training has been a little messed up. J and I can no longer run together in the mornings because we don't want to leave Dakota alone while we're gone (even though he is old enough and would be fine, we still don't feel right about it). So basically we are both on our own. We've been taking turns running and for the next three weeks while I run with our friend Marissa on Saturday mornings, he will be doing his long runs alone on Sundays. Poor guy.

Unfortunately, this week I only got in three runs:

Monday, 7/02 - 5.6 miles/54:41 - 9:37 pace
Thursday, 7/05 - 3.2 miles/30:04 - 9:20 pace
Saturday, 7/07 - 13.16 miles/2:36:32 - 11:53 pace

Total Weekly Mileage: 21.96

It's getting a little frustrating to get further and further into my training only to be getting slower and slower with each run. Jeremy keeps reminding me that it's only the weather and that my body is getting stronger and is able to work through so much more now that when fall comes along my times are going to be insane and blah, blah, blah...

Of course I know all this. I was blessed with common sense, thank goodness. But it still sucks, I don't like it.

The Monday run was awful. The Thursday run I did at the last minute after it stopped raining for five minutes. It was so muggy and thick. I hadn't run that route so slow in months and I really felt like I was giving it my all at the end.

Actually, my best run in weeks was this morning. Marissa met me at my house at 5:30am to set out for 14 miles. Since I am used to running around a 9:45 pace on my long runs with Jeremy, the slower pace was just what I needed to boost my confidence. The almost 12mm pace, which seems really slow to me for some reason, really didn't feel all that slow in the heat this morning.

Screen shot from weather.com @ 5:30am today.
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It felt great actually. We talked the whole time, I didn't feel angry or wonder why I was doing this crazy running thing like I normally do on my long runs lately. My fuel belt didn't even bother me. It was just really comfortable and I finished strong. Unfortunately, when I mapped the route later on runstoppable, I found out we only ran 13.16, not 14. Oh well. Either way, I am looking forward to running with her for the next couple of weeks. It's nice to mix things up a bit.

Another reason I think it went so well is I discovered a new little ritual for myself in the mornings before a long run. A very small cup of coffee with a lot of water helps to get things moving before I head out so that they don't start moving around mile 2 (I aint talking about my energy level either). If you don't know what I'm saying, here is a hilarious post from Josie that will put it all into perspective for you. Lets just say the coffee 30 mintes before I ran really helped me out. Finally, I have found the cure!

Lastly, I am excited tonight that I finally picked up a copy of The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women.

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I've read reviews about it numerous times and honestly it seems that it may be the only running book I will ever truly be able to relate to. I'll let you know how it is.

7 comments:

Marcy said...

ROFLMAO!! Thank God for coffee!!! That stuff gets me to the bathroom within minutes too.

You girls that run down in Florida amaze me. That weather is just INSANE!! I don't think running could even be a possibility for me LOL

Before I'm 35 said...

Hooray for a run like to make you love running again!

Also, that book is HI-larious. I think I read it in one day, but I still pick it up on occasion just to pass the time.

Irish Blue said...

Laurel, I know what you mean about getting slower. I looked at my times on an 8 mile run from a month ago and they were faster than my Saturday 6 mile run, but I truly believe it is the heat. We are getting stronger and *hopefully* there will be no heat wave come October cause we're gonna kick butt!

Neese said...

sounds like a good book for me too! i just love your fireworks photos you are so artistic :)

ws said...

Hi - I followed a link from Marcy's blog...I am north of you in West Palm, but I totally understand the weather situation and it sucks - I'm stuck with the early morning wake up calls too. Good luck on your training for Columbus - I appreciate the counter since I'll be running my fall marathon the week after Columbus.

Sonia said...

Now I really want to get myself a copy of that book! Running and coffee are never a good combination in my opinion lol

Jolene said...

Hey, just saw the link to my poop post! Thanks! And let me know how that book is. I need a few laughs and motivation!

 
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