So, this morning Special K and I tried to run at the Armory. It's a larger indoor track and is likely to be the training place I do all of my long runs each weekend until the weather is nicer (or at least in the double digits without a wind that could blow a house down), but it was closed for a track meet. -- Damn.
We parted and I went over to the Savoy Rec Center and ran 5 miles. Today, I decided, I am going to run this whole distance without a walk break. I'm going to run a pace that my body feels is natural.
I ran one lap, realized I had to pee, stopped my iPod, used the bathroom and then started the workout over again. Then I ran... 16 laps around the track is 1 mile. That's 80 laps for 5 miles. And I realized each time I wanted to stop that I wasn't tired -- I was bored. So I came up with little fantasies in my head to keep me going. Imaginary running stories, and before I knew it the woman was announcing I'd gone 3 out of 5 miles. Sweet. The last mile was, of course, the longest. But when I hit the "400 meters left" call, I had a lot of energy. So I ran faster. If it had been on a straight away, I would have looked long and lean and swift (or so I tell myself in my head). But since it was on a gerbil wheel -- it just looked moderately faster. When I was done, I was happy, not exhausted. When I was done I stretched everything out and then laid on the floor to listen to "Give it to Me" by Timbaland (with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado).
My body felt right. It felt good.
Last September, I started running. I ran intervals where I walked a song and then ran a song. Now I can run for 5 miles without stopping. It totally makes the 10k I signed up for in 3 weeks look less daunting (well, if the weather comes around).
Now to take a shower, go to the grocery store... tomorrow I'm taking X-man to Chuck E. Cheese. MacTroll is leaving on a Sunday (again!) and is gone through Wednesday, but then he's home for 2 1/2 weeks. The longest amount of time straight since X-man was born. Crazy, huh?
No comments:
Post a Comment