Monday, July 2, 2012

One and Done


I can’t believe it. 15 miles, a few crazy storms, and one heat wave later – the first week of marathon training is done!

It was a rough week, but it felt good to get my head back in the game. I had a rough half marathon Memorial Day weekend that resulted in some minor injuries and a lot of crankiness, so I decided to “take off” from running until marathon training began. I knew this week would be difficult after my vacation, and it was. I’m a slow runner as it is, so a few weeks off made my times even slower. I usually knock out 3 miles in 35 minutes or less, but this week my  times were much closer to 40 than I would have liked.

I had 6 miles to do on Saturday morning, and with the heat wave my main goal was not passing out from heat exhaustion. After slowly trudging the first two miles, and wanting to die during the third, I knew something had to change. For the last three miles I sprinted a quarter mile, then walked a quarter mile. I promised myself that for every uphill I came across, if I was supposed to be running, I could walk if I absolutely had to (only once!). In exchange, I had to run down every hill I came across, even if I was supposed to be walking. I figured I was going so slow at that point, I might as well use gravity to my advantage, even if it felt like I was cheating! You can see my stats for that run at the bottom of the blog. It wasn’t pretty, but I got it done! The pacing requirement for MCM is a 14 min mile, so I consoled myself with the knowledge that I’m on pace for finishing a marathon in triple digit weather.

After weeks of research and discussion, my dad bought my the Garmin Forerunner 610 as a birthday present. I only took it out once so far, but I love it! Even in the heat, the watch challenged me to compete against myself and run harder. I also loved the freedom it gave me in deciding my course. Normally I plan out a run in advance, which was fine in the city, but much more difficult in the burbs. Saturday I ran through various developments, the park, etc. without another thought. I’ve tried a few of the GPS apps for my phone, but I don’t use an armband which meant checking my phone was a hassle. Sometimes I would accidentally pause the app without realizing it, leaving me to try to guess mileage and time.

I’m excited to really start taking the 610 out there and learning all of the cool features. Huge thanks to my dad the great birthday present, and supporting me in this journey!

If you would like to donate to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, please click the Team Lemon banner above. 100% of your donation goes toward finding a cure for childhood cancers. Any amount helps!

1 comment:

  1. I am so jealous of the birthday present!!!! Way to kick ass on the first week :-) I'm very proud of you.

    ReplyDelete