Goal number 1: Run outside for a minimum of 6 miles WITHOUT WALKING!!! Now I have done this a few times indoors on the treadmill, but I had NOT accomplished it outside EVER!
Goal number 2: Beat our previous time of 1:44:22 (or an average pace of 11:32).
We got to the lake and actually started our run at 5:49 AM. It was already about 84 degrees outside and do you want to know something else about 5:49 AM...it is still DARK outside! Makes it kinda hard to pace yourself with your Garmin when you can't see it...and of course, despite reading a post earlier this week about the fact that Garmin does have a backlight I totally forgot to check and see how to USE it!
I ran the first two miles "blind", but that's OK I ran them. It was actually pretty awsome running because this time I wanted to make sure I saw something other than the pavement. I looked up as I topped one of the hills and saw a beautiful sunrise reflecting off of a perfectly calm and still lake! Breathtaking! There were fishermen out in boats, waders, and fishing from the shore. I saw ducks, geese, and squirrels.
At the three mile mark we stopped at a water fountain to hydrate and I was still feelin' pretty good. I hadn't been struggling for my breath as I had been on my last "Rock" test and my legs felt awsome. So off we went again. At 4.25 we passed DS going the other direction. He had left the house after us, started later than us, but wasn't tooooooo far ahead of us...another positive to put in my head for this run!
I knew I was going to make my first goal when I looked at Garmin at the 5 mile mark and it told me that I had just completed a 10:38 mile. Whoa! Didn't feel like a 10:38....cool. As it turned out that would be my fastest split - but it was between mile 4 and 5! NOT at the beginning of the run ~ AND I still felt GOOD!
I kept my eye on Garmin and suddenly there it was - 6 miles completed and I hadn't walked a step! I finished a 10K in my normal time: 1:07:45, but I had done it with no walking and I was still feeling fairly strong. This is encouraging that perhaps when I actually run my next 10K in October I can be a little faster. OK...now I simply had to see how far I could make it without walking and I would have a new "BEST". (The farthest I had ever run on a treadmill without walking was 8 miles...I was secretly hoping to be able to at least make that on an outdoor run as well.)
I felt really strong and good until about mile 7.5...here is when my legs started letting me know they were there, and my breathing became a bit more labored, but I pushed on. At mile 7.72 you have to go up this slow grade...a killer at the end of the run but I was determined. I was sooooo close to my goal. I finally reached the top of the hill and started down running as fast as I could. DH was at the bottom of the hill waiting for me patiently. As I crossed the "finish line" and stopped my Garmin he said, "Congratulations, you just ran the Rock". I was soooooo happy because yes, I. RAN. THE. ROCK. All 9.09 miles without walking once. A new record for me! I also did it in 1:39:28, a full 4:04 faster than a week ago.
We headed back to the car, then to the gym to shower and get ready for church. I checked out the temperature - it was up to 89 degrees. We didn't see the kiddos during church, through a sad miscommunication my DD knew we were going to go running but didn't understand we were going out so early so we could still see them at church. They were kind enough to go out to lunch with us after so we could enjoy the DGKs and we had a great talk about running. Looks like one of these Sunday's DSIL may make the trek out there and run with us.
As soon as I got home I hooked up Garmin so I could check out my pace and splits:
Mile 1 : 10:55
Mile 2 : 11:13
Mile 3 : 10:52
Mile 4 : 10:50
Mile 5 : 10:38
Mile 6 : 11:00
Mile 7 : 10:54
Mile 8 : 11:20
Mile 9 : 10:55
I learned so much from this run. I really need to just go at my own pace and not worry about it so much...I can do more than I think I can...Running isn't so bad when you can breathe!
Guess I need to apply these to my next run too, huh?
I learned so much from this run. I really need to just go at my own pace and not worry about it so much...I can do more than I think I can...Running isn't so bad when you can breathe!
Guess I need to apply these to my next run too, huh?
No comments:
Post a Comment