with a rebel yell...
So I ran 8 miles for the first time today. I'm training for the half marathon in January, and last weekend was the 7 mile run.
It was... excruciating. The first 5.75 miles were actually fine - I was watching an episode of Project Runway on my MP3 player, and though I got tired, I at least wasn't bored. But when that ended, I made the mistake of getting off the treadmill to get some water, and from then on, it was torturous. I don't think I managed to run more than 3 consecutive minutes for the next 2 miles, and by the end I was hanging over the top of the treadmill trying to keep my legs moving at a measly 3.5 miles per hour. I think part of the problem was that I started to get hungry, which weakened me, because I had only had cereal for breakfast.
But the crappiness of this run troubles me, because the race is 34 days away, and I was really hoping to run the entire thing continuously. Then again, I don't know why I'm surprised, because for the past two weeks I've skipped about half of the mid-week training short runs. I started off so strong - the first six weeks I ran 4 days a week without missing a beat, but round about Thanksgiving I fell off track and haven't quite been able to get back on the horse, to mix my metaphors even further. It could get a lot better, once school ends in five days, with a lot more free time, but it also could get a lot worse. I just booked my flight to Maryland to visit my sister and her kids over Christmas, and it seems very unlikely that I will be putting in a lot of miles in the snow.
Ah well... I'm going to complete the thirteen miles, and if I really buckle down and get the training in, I should be able to run the whole thing, and maybe even finish in under three hours, which is a really sad goal, I know.
It was... excruciating. The first 5.75 miles were actually fine - I was watching an episode of Project Runway on my MP3 player, and though I got tired, I at least wasn't bored. But when that ended, I made the mistake of getting off the treadmill to get some water, and from then on, it was torturous. I don't think I managed to run more than 3 consecutive minutes for the next 2 miles, and by the end I was hanging over the top of the treadmill trying to keep my legs moving at a measly 3.5 miles per hour. I think part of the problem was that I started to get hungry, which weakened me, because I had only had cereal for breakfast.
But the crappiness of this run troubles me, because the race is 34 days away, and I was really hoping to run the entire thing continuously. Then again, I don't know why I'm surprised, because for the past two weeks I've skipped about half of the mid-week training short runs. I started off so strong - the first six weeks I ran 4 days a week without missing a beat, but round about Thanksgiving I fell off track and haven't quite been able to get back on the horse, to mix my metaphors even further. It could get a lot better, once school ends in five days, with a lot more free time, but it also could get a lot worse. I just booked my flight to Maryland to visit my sister and her kids over Christmas, and it seems very unlikely that I will be putting in a lot of miles in the snow.
Ah well... I'm going to complete the thirteen miles, and if I really buckle down and get the training in, I should be able to run the whole thing, and maybe even finish in under three hours, which is a really sad goal, I know.