I think winter has been sneaking in here, and we had our first snowfall today. I had good runs this week, but got thrown through a loop with seeing the snow coming down this morning. Keep in mind that I don't like winter weather because I hate being cold, especially for running. I did consider running out in the snow, but it was also windy with the big flakes, and it wasn't quite sticking, making a bunch of slush. This is not good when you don't have the proper running gear for winter weather running yet (working on that...more about that later).
So, today was my first run at the gym this winter. This meant hitting the treadmill for 5 miles, and I was initially nervous about the distance. I don't know why...probably because it feels like a long ways to me, but again, once I got going, the mileage wasn't that intimidating.
As a whole, the treadmill is not my favorite method of getting miles in, but it sure beats running on an indoor track for laps on end. I brought my ipod, and played some of the new tunes I had recently downloaded. I started off with a 5 minute walk, just to get things moving a bit, then took about 10 minutes to stretch. After that, I hopped back onto the treadmill to start my 5 miles. It took a few minutes to get use to being on the treadmill, and my legs needed a few extra minutes for warm-up, but I ended up really enjoying the run! I got into the music on my ipod, was mouthing along with the words, and even mentally changing the lyrics here and there to make them race/finish line related. I was even picturing myself running the marathon, holding a great pace, feeling great, and just enjoying the run. I kept my pace and distance indicator covered most of the time to avoid the mindset of "Ugh. I've only done X miles at X speed,", but I think I was running somewhere around 10:30 pace (maybe a bit slower) for most of the run. I varied the speed some throughout the run....ran a bit faster when I felt like I could, then slowed down some when I felt like I needed a bit of recovery. I finished the last 10th of a mile at a 10 minute pace, and finished somewhere about a minute or two above 50 minutes. For a marathon pace, that's actually not bad. I had to remind myself of that towards the end of my run, because I did have that thought of "Am I too slow?" sneak in. However, I had to remind myself that if I do this marathon, I'm going for distance, not time, and that my pace was really good for me....not for anyone else, but for me. I certainly won't first finish first, but I wouldn't be last, and, most importantly, finish the race like a boss.
As for fueling, all I needed was some water, which I had on me at the treadmill. About a hour before the run, I realized I was really hungry, as I didn't have lunch. As I normally like to do, I slept in late, and had some oatmeal, with plans of doing the long run outside, but those plans got foiled. Then, I remembered there was a gymnastics meet on campus that I was wanting to go see, so I went to that instead, which caused me to not have lunch. In other words, I didn't plan my schedule well. So anyways, I went to our local food co-op, which is in the same building as my gym. There I was only planning on buying a banana or small snack to tide me over, but found myself buying two slices of pizza and some pesto salad instead. I wasn't sure on how well it was going to work with me, but it ended up being fine, and I had good energy throughout the whole run.
As for this cold weather thing, I'm trying to still run outside as much as possible. However, I really don't have the warm weather gear for it. Plus, warm weather gear can be expensive to get. So, I've done some snooping around online, and came across this site called Poshmark. It's a website in which people sell (mostly) gently used clothing, including running gear. I did try on some Under Armour "Cold Gear" running tights at the mall that I found on sale for $25, but neither size fit. However, I decided that I would be okay with a gently used pair, and found one that will hopefully fit me well for the same price. I figured it's worth a shot. Now, I am also trying to find a winter weather/cold gear type of running shirt, as my Nike Pro shirt (which was super cool, as it also had thumb holes) has gone MIA. I *might* have accidently gotten rid of it when I moved to my current place back in August, but I'm not sure. Plus, I still want a good jacket, and some reflective gear/lights. It gets so dark so fast nowadays after work that I have a narrow time frame to get my run done. At this point, I may be having to run at the gym on the treadmill more because of the daylight issue.
In the meantime, I'll do the best that I can with this weather. I believe in two weeks, I will have my 6 mile long run, and will be making my decision about doing this full marathon training around then. I am still on edge about it a bit, but with knowing that I conquered five miles nonstop today, I'm feeling more confident that I can start running six, and maybe continue on with the training.
Happy Running!
No comments:
Post a Comment