Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Get back to work...but keep on training!!

Quotation for the day (another of my favorites): "It's never too late to be who you might have been" George Eliot


Me, graduating with my PhD in clinical psychology at the age of 45...living the above quotation.

Okay...Today has been a full one indeed. I do wonder how I'll manage to include those longer training runs more than once a week into my schedule. I only work in the evening today, so I had all day, or so I thought. But then I realized I had yet one more report to write (I had forgotten about that one), so I did that this morning. When that was done it was almost lunch time, but I decided to go for my run first.


No outdoor run today, I'm off to the gym
Don't forget the water!

And a banana, which I ate in the car on my way there. The gym is about 5 minutes from my house, which makes it an easy option if an outdoor run is not ideal.


It's on days like today that I am reminded of my novice level as a runner. The guy next to me had already been on the treadmill a while (or so it seemed by the look of his t-shirt) and his pace was, well, it was much faster than mine. You'll notice that I haven't mentioned my times yet...I am trying not to worry about my time for now and focus on just being able to run for a long time without too much pain (physical and psychological).


But if you must know, I run a 12 minute mile...when I run for half an hour, that's 2.5 miles (that would be 4K for me, which at least sounds longer).


So, I'm a beginner! I know I've made lots of progress since I started less than six months ago, but as I was running my 4K today it didn't feel easy and I was thinking that I really wished that I could just float along without effort when I run (especially short distances). I always feel better on long runs (cause I'm so proud of myself maybe), but also because it's like I reach a point where I feel like I could go on forever...I love that!

I don't have time to reach that point on my shorter runs, so I find them more effortful.


But most importantly, after every run I feel great. I used to take a short 30 minute nap in the afternoons when I was working in the evening, but these days, I go for a run, and somehow, I feel just as refreshed. Now THAT is wonderful!


Daily training log


4K run on the treadmill
10 minutes of stretching after

4 comments:

Lily on the Road said...

Congrat's on the prednisone countdown, I'm day 30!!

Don't worry about what anybody else is doing at the gym (hard, I know) just work on getting your conditioning in...speed work will come later. Build your base, just like you would a house...with a strong foundation.

Anne said...

Wow!!! It's so wonderful to hear that someone else is going through the prednisone countdown :)!! Good luck on that!!

Thanks again...sometimes it's hard not to want to compare a little, but I'm really trying to focus on my own progress.

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time you wil know that I love CANADIANS!!

I try to really focus on what I HAVE done instead of what I have not done. This has always served me well and kept me positive..

BEst wishes with your 1,000K.. Robin at the Turle Blog is doing a 500 mile pay it forward challenge.. Sorry we don't work in K's :)

Alicia said...

Wow! I don't think I've ever known of anyone who has started running AFTER getting asthma. That's amazing! You are an inspiration. And just started running in July and have already run a 10k?! You are doing awesome! Keep it up!

Love the quote about being who you were meant to be. I was a psych major in college and plan on going back soon to get my masters and be a school psych. while my kiddos are still in school.

Anyway, you have a beautiful family and it's always great to read another runner's story. Thanks for stopping by my blog!