Getting Personal with Pacing

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I haven't been sleeping well lately, which isn't meshing well with my January goals. I've always had lots of trouble getting to sleep but I also have recently started watching the series Breaking Bad which is only feeding my problem getting to sleep because I could always watch the next episode...

Anyways, long story short, I stayed up too late on Saturday night and woke up again at 2:00AM feeling nauseous from not eating enough for dinner. I took a Gravol and went back to sleep hoping I'd feel better for my run on Sunday morning. When I woke up I was still feeling nauseous, but I really wanted to get my run in, so I took another Gravol and headed to my local run club for a long run. I had 13km on the schedule so I knew that I at least wanted to get that done, but I wasn't sure what the rest of the group would be running. I got there and the only two options this week were 7 or 18km. Hmm... Not ideal but I headed out for the 18km intending to cut it short somewhere along the way.

As we got going, I felt horrible and really sluggish. I was really starting to reconsider doing 7ish kilometers, but I never managed to turn myself around. I just kept going and tried to let go of keeping up with the group. When you run with a group it's so easy to chase or follow the person in front of you which works okay for a few kilometers but after that, things tend to fall apart if you're going faster than you should. I slowed right down to an average pace of 6:30/7:00km including my 10/1s. Within 1 kilometer or so, I found myself all alone but feeling a lot better.

I sort of had to laugh at myself a little bit because I know all of these things and yet I find myself making the same mistakes. I think part of my pacing issue stems from the fact that running has become a lot more social for me over the past couple of years and meeting lots of new friends. I often find myself trying to keep pace with people for fear of missing some good conversation but when you are so out of breath you can't talk, there's really no point ha ha. I enjoy running with a group but it is very important to remember that you are the only person that will get yourself to that finish line.

I threw away the route about halfway through and decided to do my own thing and even though it was a cloudy grey day, it was a really beautiful run for me. Sometimes all I need to clear my head is a couple of hours with myself and the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement.

In the end, I  didn't really cut it short and ran 17km exactly, ending in the chocolate milk aisle of the grocery store!

It always amazes me how a run can end so differently than it started. If you're struggling finding your happy pace I urge you to head out on a solo run and see how you feel.

Did you run this past Sunday, how did it go?

Square One

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My 1st week of training for my second marathon is in the books and I feel like I have started back at square one. Taking a month off took more of a toll than I anticipated.

Last Sunday in particular was really tough. I admittedly started off a lot faster than intended as I really wanted to run with a certain group of people but about 5 km in, I realized that there was no way I could continue at that pace nor was it very smart to have done so up until that point. They were doing 16km and I only had 10 on the schedule so I wasn't sure how long I'd stick it out. Thankfully I ran into a couple of other friends who had already been running for 20km so they were happy to only do another 5 or so kilometers and dragged me along beside them. In the end I clocked that run in at just over 14km and I felt wrecked. It was discouraging and humbling. During marathon training I had felt so strong, I took that for granted. In a way, I think it is a good thing, it has given me a different kind of motivation and my body felt really rested and ready to get going again.

This Sunday, I once again had 10km on the schedule. Seemingly overnight, I woke up Saturday morning sick. I had had a bit of sore throat on/off throughout the week, but I felt like it was going away. Then when Saturday hit, everything fell apart. My sinuses felt so full and my throat was extremely sore. I decided that I would run on Sunday morning anyway. It wasn't a race, I was just going to teeter along at my own pace. I've heard that if your sickness is from the neck up, then it is okay to run, but usually I just go by how I feel and I didn't feel like sitting at home. So this morning, off I went. I dressed, what I thought, was warmly, and then I went outside...

Oh my, did I ever wish I had washed my long pants after Friday night's run, it was freezing! My weather app lied, it was WAY colder than -2 at our house. I didn't feel great, but once we got running, my spirits started to lift. One of the great things about moving to a new area is that I am not yet familiar with all the running routes yet, so it is always interesting, especially on a beautiful day like today! I met some new people along my run too which was also nice, as I'm still pretty new to the local running scene here.

Starting over is tough especially because of the year I had last year, but today I felt some of that strength in my legs coming back, there is some memory there and it will all come back with some hard work! Now to get rid of this head cold... Off to bed!

Farewell to the Half Marathon Distance

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There's been only one other time where I've gone out and completed a run over 20k by myself. As this past Sunday approached, I knew that I would be doing it again and to be perfectly honest, I was nervous.

At this point I know 21.1km like the back of my hand. After 19 half marathons and countless training runs I know what every second of a run of that length feels like and I still mostly prefer to do it with a group. On the schedule for Sunday was 23km. I've only run more than a half marathon one time and that was with Nikki during her ultra training. Obviously I knew training for a full marathon we were headed in that direction, but it still feels like an unknown for me. It's exciting and terrifying all at the same time. 

I had to be home around 8:00AM to take my Great Grandma to the airport who had been visiting this past week. So, at about 5:15AM I walked out my back door somewhat half asleep and began my run.

I always complain about getting up at the crack of dawn but once I'm actually awake I hardly ever regret it. There's something amazing and so serene about waking up before the rest of the world. The silence, the empty streets, the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement...

I took this picture at only about 2km in, this portion of the run is also the first half of my usual 8km route. I thought because I run this section so often it would drag along especially since I had so much further to go but I actually felt awesome. 

The first 10km flew by and then I got a text from a fellow runner, Nikki. We had planned to start running at the same time and text each other along the way to stay motivated since we were both running alone. But since I had to get up earlier we were at different parts of our run, I'm glad we still managed to connect though.

It was great to know that someone else was out there doing the exact same thing, and those little texts helped the kilometers slip away.

Before I knew it, I only had about 7km to go and I was on my favorite stretch of the whole run. 

It was turning into a beautiful day but it was getting warm, another reason I was happy to have started so early. Special thanks to all the people that had their sprinklers on, very refreshing!

After all that it surprisingly didn't seem like long before I was back at home amazed that 23km went by so easily. 

I had some chocolate milk and then jumped in the shower so I could take my Great Grandma to the airport.

I needed a run like that. I've been struggling lately but I know from past experience that sometimes all it takes is one awesome run to turn your training around. I've regained some of my confidence and I'm even considering a few more solo long runs in the next few weeks.