Tuesday, July 6, 2010

4, 3, 2, 3, 4 ...

These numbers represent the mileage of my last five runs. Last Sunday, I ran 4 miles for the first time ever (although "running" is kind of an exaggeration - it was so, so hot and sunny that I probably walked 1/3 of it). Then on Tuesday, I ran 3. Wednesday, 2. On Thursday, I was supposed to run 3 again but I was out late the night before (and I've been setting my alarm for 6am on running days to try to beat the heat). So I put it off until Friday morning ... but on Thursday night, I was out late enjoying a few (several) cocktails with my friend Patty. So I put it off until Friday night. But Friday night, I was sucked into one of USA's marathons (I think it was Royal Pains. Or maybe NCIS? Can't remember...) so I put it off until Saturday morning. FINALLY, I woke up early on Saturday morning and ended up running 3 miles in JUST over 30 minutes (30:58, I believe) which was a HUGE PR for me (can you have PRs during training??). In comparison, on May 1st I ran a 5k in 37 minutes. Yesterday, I got up early and ran 4 again - and this time, I mostly ran. I did have to take several walk breaks, and ended up finishing in around 46 minutes.

My running is clearly improving, but I am in a major rut - which is why I am typing this all out to you. I need help! Since I started my *official* 1/2 marathon training a couple of weeks ago, I haven't been able to run without stopping for walk breaks. And most of the time when I stop to catch my breath or rest my legs, I realize that I didn't really need to do either. It's all in my head. I get this feeling that I NEED to walk for a couple of minutes to "rest up" for the rest of my run, and I have the hardest time NOT stopping once I get that idea in my head. I talked with my friend Kyle about it last night, and her suggestion was to mix things up - change out the songs on my ipod, just do stuff differently. I am going to try this for my run tomorrow, but I know I will still struggle with my BRAIN telling me that I CAN'T. As I told her last night, part of it is that I'm not a natural athlete ... and the other part is that I keep telling myself I'm not a natural athlete.

I need your help/advice/thoughts, please! And any motivators you use to get to the proverbial finish line, even if it is just a training run. There are no more short runs - I start at 3.5 tomorrow and on Sunday, FIVE. FIVE MILES. Anything you can offer me would be much appreciated!!!

5 comments:

Lucky in Love said...

I think you don't give yourself enough credit as an athlete. You are freaking running girl. So many people can't do that. I can't even imagine running 3 miles at one time (okay, let's be honest...I probably couldn't do 1) and I am so proud of you!

d.a.r. said...

Yay you!!! You are really doing well. My advice for the long run is to plan your route the night before, really think about, set out your clothes, etc. Then the next morning, you already know you are going to do it. There is no debate. You will be fine! And give yourself a walk break or two. But, tell yourself that you can't walk until a certain distance. As your mileage increases, increase the distance of that initial walk break. Say for 5 miles, run the entire first 2.5...then take a walk break. Or something like that.

Perfectly Imperfect said...

Girl you are doing great! I haven't gotten my tail out to run at all lately. I'm struggling big time. Keep it up. It's hot. It's hard to run at all let alone in this heat. You're doing awesome!

Brittany Ann said...

Set mini-goals as run: See a stop sign and keep running toward it. When you've reached it, see a tree, or something else in the distance, and go for that. Until, soon, you've completed about 18 mini-goals and the entire five miles you need to!

AEOT said...

You need to read The Non-runners Guide to Marathon Training. While I realize you aren't running a marathon, there are a tons of tricks and tips in this book that will totally help you with all the half training. I got this for B while he was training for the Chicago marathon and he really thought it helped. I think his favorite part is the self talk paragraph. He even used it in the 10 mile 4th of July run that he just did. If your local library doesn't have it, I ordered it from Amazon.

You can do this, Miss Shaina!!! Your running has improved so much, now it's just time to get your brain on board with your legs! B says instead of walking, slow down to 12 or 13 min./mile and still running so that you can get a little rest but so that your body is still in the zone. B also says (I'm asking him right now) that you have to remember that your body works and is strong and it can do it, so you just have to let it be strong for your mind.