Bad habits die hard…

I waited until Sunday to do my long run that was scheduled for Saturday. Instead of getting it out of the way early though, I decided to wait until after I shot 35 targets at a local 3-D archery shoot – which took several hours. Why do I always wait until the last possible minute to begin? The run started off slow, and I wasn’t feeling all that great about my stride, pace or energy. Luckily, I ran my standard 5 mile loop twice, and left a bottle of grape Powerade at the end of my driveway, so that motivated me enough to finish out the first five and grab a drink.

The next two miles went by fast and I was feeling good. There was even a group of people having a bbq and playing horseshoes that I passed at mile 1 and then again at mile 6. The first time around they waved. The second time around they asked “Are you lost?” When I told them “no”, they asked if I wanted a ride. Although I really DID want a ride – to my house, to Detroit, to Kansas, really I’m not picky after 6 miles - I answered “no” again and they proceeded to ask me 3 or 4 times, “Are you SURE you don’t want a ride?” I’m thinking I must have been looking pretty tired at that point.

The last three miles were brutal. Every part of my body was hurting including my left ear where my IPod ear bud was. By the time I finished, I had chafed in multiple places that I didn’t think chafing was even possible. My legs felt like Jell-o and I swore to myself that I would NEVER train for a marathon (despite all the thoughts I’ve had over the past month that if I can run a half marathon, I can run a full marathon before I turn 25).

Prior to posting this today, I read Beth’s blog (http://bethlablance.blogspot.com/) which talked about the big goals she has put in place for herself – including running a marathon next year. Although my body still aches, I am reevaluating the thoughts I had of never running a full marathon. Thanks for the inspiration, Beth!

Hopefully the rest of my runs this week go better and I can get back to that positive state of mind!

Run in review:
Miles: 10
Pace:
First 5 Miles: 11:36
Second 5 Miles: 13:00

Upcoming week:
Tuesday: 5 Miles
Thursday: 5 Miles
Saturday: 8 Miles

“In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or brilliance. They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reason why not.”
-Anonymous