I'm not running in it. I've never run a marathon, and I don't plan on it, unless I lose another 20 lbs, and since I love thin-crust pizza, that may not happen for awhile.
Quick Update: March 30th was supposed to be my Trail Half Marathon. Due to my knee injury, I switched to the 10K, which was THE RIGHT THING TO DO! OH MY, that elevation at the beginning was brutal, and what goes up must come down. My knee was not happy by the end, and two laps of that would have put me right back on ice and ibuprofen. I did finish, and it was fun. One scary thing...about 2 miles in on the trail I saw a runner having a seizure. That was pretty scary and shook me up. Then I missed a turn later in the race. My final time was around 1:23ish...not fantastic, but again, I finished! And then the next day, I went out for a quick Easter run, which turned into a 7 mile run with at time just under 1:11! I couldn't believe how good I felt! So since then, I've noticed my pace improving.
But I did something yesterday that I never dreamed I could do. My average pace is right around 10 min miles. If I go out for a run under 5 miles, my time is generally just below 10 min/mile pace. If it's 6 miles, pace is right around 10 min miles. Anything over 6 miles is over a 10 min pace. Since my knee injury, I've been rebuilding my miles back up very slowly. Yesterday was my first 9 mile run since the Hillbilly Half Marathon March 2nd. Yesterday I ran 9 miles in 1:31.25, 10.10 pace. Not fast to most people, but consider this: A year ago, 8 miles took me anywhere from 1:40-1:45. My pace was about 12.35. So now, a year later, I've taken almost 2 minutes off of my pace, and I'm running longer distances in less time. Yes, that's what should happen when you work hard, but I guess I just can't believe that I've made that much progress.
So when you have those weeks/months where you think "Wow, I'm not getting any faster"...think long term. Think where you'll be a year from that point. 10 min miles were a DREAM to me. A dream I'd never hit. I was going to be super happy with 11 minute miles, and I was. But my lesson today is to not quit just because you aren't making short term progress. Think long term, because hard work does pay off, or so I'm just now figuring out!
Whether your goal is a 10 minute mile or the Boston Marathon, celebrate your success! We all work hard, and we all want to reach our goals, no matter what they are. But you can't reach them if you don't get out there and try. Happy Running!
No comments:
Post a Comment