This morning I knew I needed to run.
But I really didn't want to run.
We were in the middle of a snowstorm, Justin was going to play basketball at the church, Kyle is getting his first tooth so he's snotty and not feeling too great, and I was just not feeling energetic.
I told Justin I just wasn't going to go.
But Makenzie wanted to go play at the gym, and Justin gave me the wise advice to just go.
So I went.
And as usual, I was glad I did.
I was kind of thinking I would do a 10k distance, but I started out not really knowing what I was going to end up doing.
I warmed up for the first mile and by the end of that mile I was doing a 6.8 on the treadmill (I think that's an 8:49 pace). I was feeling pretty good.
I started thinking about the upcoming Ragnar race, and the 4-mile straight uphill leg I have to run, and I decided to start some uphill training.
So every other song I put it on a 2.5 incline for the duration of that song. I didn't decrease my speed (still 6.8) so it was a good challenge. By 3 or maybe 4 songs of that uphill, I was getting tired.
So all of mile 4 I just ran, same pace.
On mile five, I was recovered and decided to push myself just a little more.
I decreased my speed down to a 6.0 (10 minute mile) and put the incline on a 4.0. That's a pretty good incline. I did two songs like that- it was a challenge.
As a reward for my efforts, on the last mile I gave myself a nice -2.0 downhill. It felt great.
I ended up doing my full 6.4 miles in 58:13.
I think that's a 9:22 pace.
I really ran my guts out and it felt so good!
So every other song I put it on a 2.5 incline for the duration of that song. I didn't decrease my speed (still 6.8) so it was a good challenge. By 3 or maybe 4 songs of that uphill, I was getting tired.
So all of mile 4 I just ran, same pace.
On mile five, I was recovered and decided to push myself just a little more.
I decreased my speed down to a 6.0 (10 minute mile) and put the incline on a 4.0. That's a pretty good incline. I did two songs like that- it was a challenge.
As a reward for my efforts, on the last mile I gave myself a nice -2.0 downhill. It felt great.
I ended up doing my full 6.4 miles in 58:13.
I think that's a 9:22 pace.
I really ran my guts out and it felt so good!
Props for making yourself go to the gym even when you didn't feel like it. I'm SLOWLY getting back into exercise and the hardest part is just putting on my shoes and getting started. That sounds like a butt kicking work out with the incline and going at such a fast pace. Reading it made me nostalgic for the days my body could do stuff like that. I'm scared to get back on the treadmill because I know that when I do the reality of how out of shape I am will hit me and I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with that mental bummer! ; ) It's awesome though reading about how you've gotten back into shape after baby. Gives me hope that maybe in 6 months I'll be cranking out the miles again too ; )
ReplyDeletegood job Tara. I don't know how you do it. I give up on myself too easily- ha ha. I'm so impressed with your running. I want to get back into it a little more, but I'm just not loving the treadmill and Boston refuses to stop snowing- so I wait. I was gonna try the New England ragnar, but I can't get anyone else very interested with me, so I'm aiming for next year. But I totally agree with your post earlier about not losing weight while running. The whole time I trained for the half marathon- I didn't lose a single pound- it was frustrating. I will have to try out your advice:)
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