Today was finally "the" day. The one I've been longing for since the injury that put me out of running several months ago. The day I would be able to run 5K again without stopping. What an awesome feeling it was to know that I am finally back in the game, and much sooner than I originally thought I would be. 19 days of running and I'm there. Wow.
It was another evening run. Thankfully a cool front moved in a couple of days ago, so the heat was much more bearable. I was hoping for an easy run after taking two days off to rest, but at less than a mile, I wanted to stop. I couldn't believe it. Thoughts crossed my mind like, "You must be nuts. Why are you doing this? Why are you putting yourself through this? Just stop already and go home. This is no fun." But I ignored those thoughts and just kept going. There was no way I was wimping out. No siree. I wanted today to be the day I ran 5K, and I knew my body was probably ready.
So out came my tougher side, and the pep talk commenced:
- "If that woman can run 100 miles (there's a woman on DailyMile who recently ran in in the Umstead100--have I mentioned her?), then you can run 3.1 miles. No problem."
- "3.1 miles is easy. It's nothing. Think of all those people who see 3.1 miles as an easy warm-up run."
- "One foot in front of the other. Just keep running."
- "Your legs aren't hurting. Nothing is hurting. You aren't out of breath. Keep going. You can do it."
- "Focus on the finish line, on how good you'll feel once you get there."
- "Push yourself. C'mon. Unless you're about to pass out or die, just keep running."
- "You're in the home stretch. C'mon, don't give up now. You would kick yourself if you got this close and then gave up."
At one point I tried to take my cell phone out and play a game of bowling. Bad idea. I promptly closed my phone and put it away. I don't know if it's just me, but I can't focus on much of anything else when I need to keep running and I don't feel like it. I think I do want to get an ipod, however. That's right folks, I do not own an ipod. "Rawr." (That was a Tyrannosaurus.)
I love what running can teach you, if you let it. To get the job done, even when you don't feel like it; push yourself beyond what you "think" you can do. To not be a wimp; not give up; to practice delayed gratification. To think ahead to the end result, instead of focusing on the uncomfortable here and now. The rewards are so worth it, too. It gives you more confidence in yourself, strengthens your resolve, and gives you a real sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, just to name a few.
I look forward to Race Day on Saturday with more confidence now. I know I can cover the distance if I just push myself. Now it's just a matter of how fast. Today I did it in 33 minutes, 30 seconds. I hope to do it in 31 minutes on Race Day.
Tuesday will be my next run day, and I'll taper back down to 2 miles, then 1 mile on Thursday. I want to have well-rested legs on Race Day. I'm pretty sure the reason my shins were giving me a problem before is because I was trying to increase my weekly mileage a little too soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment