Due to incredible laziness on Sunday, I moved my long run to last Monday night after work. Normally I prefer to do my long run on Sunday when I have more time and am not tired from being a work all day but since I wussed out on Sunday to watch/sleep through the football play offs, I figured I better suck it up and get my long run done on Monday.
Thankfully, Monday was fairly busy at work which actually helps me stay motivated to run. If it’s a slow, quiet day I find I’m really tired and sleep at the end of the day and just want to crash on the couch. But the busier, more crazy days are the ones I love. I’m more energetic, happier and more motivated to get things done when I get home.
My training is loosely based on a training plan that I got from Runner’s World. I’m currently in week 3 of the plan and my long run should have been 5 miles Sunday. But I like to increase my long runs by a mile each week. First week was 7, second week was 8, so third week was 9. I’ve never run 9 miles before. The last long run I did before I crashed and burned between Thanksgiving and Christmas was 8.5 miles, so I pretty much knew that I could run 9 miles. But I was still nervous about doing it.
I got home from work about 5:15 and Hubbs friend had stopped by, so I said hi and quickly changed my clothes. Hubbs friend asked how long my run was going to be and when I said 9 miles he laughed and said I was crazy. I’m crazy?! He’s a Marine! Those guys are crazy! 9 miles is nothing compared to what he’s done and seen. Of course he asked me what my best 5k time is and then bragged that his was 20:something…7 years ago! LOL
While I was still at work on Monday, I started thinking about what I think about when I’m running. Blank, I’m blank. I have no idea what I think about when I run. I pretty much let my mind wander where it will and try not to dwell on any pain or discomfort that I might be having. I’ll be honest, the first mile to mile & a half are terrible and I wonder every time why I do this to myself. But after that my muscles loosen up and things start to flow and it’s about that time that I start having my “deep” thoughts. But what I think about I have no idea.
For Monday, since I had 9 miles to think about stuff I thought about what I think about when I run. I wondered what I think about. Then I had some great ideas that would make for awesome posts. And then I forgot the awesome ideas. Grrrr. I guess my running is my brains time to just wander around, think about my day, de-stress, go over things that bother me and work out my problems. It’s nothing earth shattering. But when my runs are over, I feel good. Even if it’s a bad run, I still feel good. I’m happier and more relaxed then if I’d had a massage or gone shopping.
The only specific thing I really remember thinking was right about the 5 mile mark. I was thinking about last April when I was first starting the Couch to 5k program. I remember being so intimidated by the 20 min run with no breaks. I was scared. I was scared I couldn’t do it, that I’d embarrass myself, that I’d fail. But there I was, about 9 months later, gliding along, almost effortlessly in the middle of a 9 mile run. At 5 miles I’d already been running for more than 50 minutes without a break and didn’t need a walk break. I was really and truly humbled by what my body can do.
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