I finally found my groove! After a disastrous workout last week, I did a "max run" test. It was to go at my current pace and see how long I could go without stopping. I made it 24 minutes (2 miles). Not great, but not horrible. It was hard though. I was still a mental mess! That was last Wednesday. Then I took Thursday and Friday off due to 4th of July stuff going on.
Saturday was the day I've been waiting for, and wondering if it would ever come. I decided I'd stick to my current pace and hope that I could at least make it to 2 miles with no slowing down and no stopping. Well, I did that and added a 1/2 mile! I felt absolutely great and for the first time could really say that I enjoyed my run. Bennett was quiet throughout the run (busy watching Bugs Bunny DVDs) and that helped me maintain my focus a bit more. I felt really, really good! I couldn't believe it. I felt like I could have kept going or picked up the pace a bit even! That was so encouraging for me! I'm so ecstatic! I know I'm still slow as a snail, but looking through my logs, I know I'm improving, even tiny bits at a time!
Today I did another 2.5 miles in 30 minutes and felt good while doing it. I hit 2 miles and I start getting all "mental," so I'm working on that. My goal this week is to do 2 more 2.5 miles workouts at the same pace. Next week, I plan to increase to 3 miles on 3 days and 1 day do a shorter distance at a faster pace.
I am going to sign up for the Cedar's Rapid Run (alumni run) on August 7th. I'm going to do the 2 mile run. My goal is to run that in 22 minutes or less. I know it's doable. I would really like to be 20 minutes, but I'm not sure in a month's time if that is really achievable or not. We shall see. I'll be happy so long as I can beat my 25:01 from the Albion run!
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That 2 mile mark is a great spot! Good job! I think the 2 mile run is an out and back thing. If so, see if you can set some people up along the way to mark distances. Then you can check your time vs the distance to know if you need to pick up the pace a little to hit your 20 minute goal. You will certainly be able to hit 22 minutes in 2 miles by then. I'm putting a wager on 20:05 but I wouldn't be surprised to see 19:55.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the hard work. You are doing great!