Saturday was nothing special - 5 miles at 8:21 pace. I didn't feel good, I didn't feel bad. It was a run. I decided to stop at 5 miles, at the bottom of the hill leading to the neighborhood, mainly because I was lazy.
Sunday broke cold and wet - not a good day to do the long (11 mile plan) run. I dressed early in the morning and went to the gym, with every intention of trying to get in a good treadmill run. That bombed. The treadmill was hard, I was sore (early morning soreness) and I gave up. As the day progressed, it got colder and wetter and I spent more time on the couch (dressed and ready to run) than I should have. Finally went to the gym and did 16 minutes on the treadmill and 48 minutes on the elliptical. I actually felt better than I thought I would, as I always do.
Why 16 and 48 minutes, you may ask? The elliptical has 16 segments into which the machine breaks a workout of any length. Sooooooo, a 48 minute workout is 16 segments of 3 minutes, 64 minute workout is 16 segments of 4 minutes. Compulsive? Probably.
Monday continued in the same vein as Sunday - cold and rain. But that good old guilt crept in so I dressed in sweatpants, hat, gloves, and windbreaker and went for what I thought would be 6 miles. Not 11, as I was supposed to do but it would be better than nothing. My plan was that I would do 6 on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 3 on Thursday, rest Friday, 5 or 6 on Saturday and 8 on Sunday, thereby getting back on plan. Not exactly the long run that I need but long enough to make up for missing the 11 miler.
As fate would have it, the rain stopped for my run, and when I got to the 5 mile mark, I felt great. I ended up going 8.2, averaging somewhere around 8:30. I felt great, and know in my heart that 11 would have posed no problem. Psychologically, this put me back on track. I'll do 3 today, 5 Wednesday, 3 Thursday - all back on schedule.
I was hot when I finished and know that I haven't mastered that cold dressing thing yet. I'll probably dress to light next time but know I'll get it right at some point.
I'm finding that the rigor associated with following a regimen of training is right up my alley. It gives me both a PLAN and a GOAL, both things that I need right now. Sure, it adds some pressure but it also makes me feel pretty good about my fitness, and all the things that go along with that.
So blog readers (anyone out there?). Is anyone reading this or am I babbling into the internet alone? Either way, I find it therapeutic.
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I'm reading it! And I'm proud of you and inspired by your dedication and drive.
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