Today, I did a long run of 14 miles. During the run, I had to run the "big hill" twice and it made it very difficult for me. Shortly after my second time up the hill at about 11 miles, I got a pretty good (bad) cramp in my right hamstring. After about 2 minutes of easy stretching and walking, it went away and I was able to resume running and finish my run. I still haven't missed a workout since I began running again at the end of October. If I keep this up, my running will get faster and my belly will get smaller. I get two benefits for the price of one!
For the first time since I have been back running, I ran a training run in under 10 minutes per mile. During most of my life, I would have considered this slow but I let myself get so far out of shape that this seemed like a victory. This gives me hope that once I lose some weight, I will be a much faster runner. I still have 40-50 lbs. to lose. Happy Holidays to everyone!
One of the things that I have always enjoyed about running (after you get past the "every step is misery" phase) is that it gives you time to think about things going on in your life. I don't run with any music so when I am out there, it is just me and my thoughts. It is like a free therapy session. The only cost is my sweat. Today I had a 2 hours and 20 minute therapy session. My body got a good workout running the 12 mile workout but I think that my brain got the better workout. During that period of time, I was able to think through things going on at work, about my daughter going away to the other side of the country for college in two weeks, and about my family and friends. On the lighter side, I also made mental plans for a ski trip up to Wyoming and Montana later this winter.
I just realized that I have stuck with my running for 8 weeks now. The hardest physical part is over. The early weeks, where my knee, calf, and hip all took turns hurting. Sometimes they would all hurt at once. I have a long way to go until I am in shape but the good thing is that I know that if I stay disciplined about doing my runs, I will definitely get there. I feel much better already. I heard once that the picture that you have of yourself in your brain is what you become. After 8 weeks, my body may still look flabby on the outside but in my brain, I am an athlete. Pretty soon, if I just keep it up, my body will catch up with my brain.
I decided that it is time to start increasing my midweek training runs. I am feeling fairly motivated at the moment. Tonight I ran 4 miles rather than the 3 miles that I typically do. I will do the 4 on both training runs per week. In another few weeks, I will bump it up again. This along with an increase of 1 mile per week on my long run (this weekend it will be 11 miles) should help me get into better shape quicker. I expect to run the LA Marathon in March and am hoping that I will be able to run it at a decent pace.
After postponing my long run two days due to rain and laziness, I finally set out on my first 10 mile run in many years. The weather was nice and cool for Southern California and I took it nice and slow, significantly slower than my 9 mile pace last week. I felt pretty good and did not get injured allowing me to train another day. Next week is 11 miles. I think I will try to pick up my pace for that one.
