Back on Track
Since deciding to forego the full marathon in favor of the half marathon in January, I have felt a lot better about the prospects for my running over the next few months. With the pressure of doing 15+ mile marathon training long runs off my shoulders, I can now focus on goals that I am happier about working toward, such as:
1. Having fun and feeling good.
2. Running a solid half marathon in January.
3. Improving my speed prior to the Texas Independence Relay in March.
I haven't written much about running lately, which makes it hard to call myself a running blogger (or a blogging runner). I must admit that I've been deterred lately by seeing what has been going on around the blogosphere in Houston and beyond and some of the judgment taking place. I don't want to be judged, really. Running for me has never been about time. I know I obsessively keep track of time and pace, but that's really just the engineer in me that loves numbers. Running for me has really been about staying fit and having fun. I do want to improve, and I do want to get faster -- but I'm not willing to make large sacrifices for that. I know that sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it's not for me. Some days I just don't feel like running. Some days I just don't feel like pushing myself. I'm ok with that, even though I know that others aren't. Every time I start berating myself for not being "fast enough" or "strong enough," I lose sight of goal number one, and I start to hate the sport. When I relieve that pressure, the enjoyment returns.
I've had a few really good runs lately, good in that they were both fun and fast, and this is in no small part due to the gloriously chilly evening weather. I've lost a lot of my cold tolerance over the years in Houston, and while 55 degrees now seems downright freezing to me if I'm just walking around, it still feels great once I start running. Last night along with a warmup and cooldown, I did a two 1-mile repeats with a quarter-mile walk break between them, just to see what I could do. Running at 90-95%, I ran the miles in 9:12 and 9:17. Not too shabby, eh?
It was fun. And pretty fast. And I was happy.
what were the splits on the other 2 mile repeat? Or did you mean you did two 1 mile repeats with a 1/4 mile recovery walk in between?
Either way, good job.
Oh, it's misleading isn't it? I updated to reflect what I actually did: two 1-mile repeats with a 1/4 mile walk in between. With warmup and cooldown, total workout was 4 miles.
Great job on your run! I know what you mean about running...I started running for fitness and because I enjoyed it. I do like to push myself to do better, but the more pressure I put on myself, the less I really enjoy running. I have to remind myself of the original reasons I started this whole running thing!