HOLY BALLS!
It’s so hard to believe that we are only 1 month away from Race Day!!! What’s just as hard to believe is that we’ve actually been sticking pretty closely to our training program for all but 8 weeks at this point! CRAZY!
This week so far has panned out to be a good running week. I hope it continues since Saturday is our first 8-miler! EEK!
We were supposed to run 4.5 miles 2 days this week but decided to push ourselves a little bit and bump it up to 5 miles instead. All along we’ve been planning to run the 5-mile loop at the Tempe Town Lake, so on Tuesday we both packed bags before work and agreed to meet there around 5:30pm.
Suzanne’s boss John (with whom we are also friends) decided to join us. He works out regularly but usually doesn’t run more than 3 miles per day. It was good having him run with us! He kept pace with us for the first half or so, then started pulling away from us. When we rounded the last turn to run the stretch from Priest back to the Beach Park, John waited for us and ran with us. He encouraged us to pick up our pace, so we all ran the last mile(ish) together. It was fun!
Afterwards we went to Macayo’s to chow down on some super-yummy comida Mexicana. YUMMO! And we had a blast at dinner! We told old drinking stories, cracked jokes… it was a great time! Suz & I have always had fun hanging out with John, but we didn’t see much of him for about a year because he had an insecure girlfriend who didn’t exactly embrace us. It’s nice to have the old, “Fun-John” back!
While at dinner on Tuesday we all agreed that we’d meet back at the Beach Park on Wednesday after work to knock out another 5 miles, so we did. Wednesday’s run was AWESOME. We took an entire 10 MINUTES off of our run! The exact same route, mind you! CRAZINESS!
When we first started out, I was so tired and unmotivated, but knew I needed to suck it up. Plus I was already dressed and out on the lake, so why would I not finish? Then on top of that, my knee was hurting again. But about a mile into the run, my knee stopped bothering me… or perhaps I simply forgot about it, since it’s 90% a mental game? Either way, I felt great, and I could tell we were running at a better pace than we had run on Tuesday.
When we were halfway, I asked Suzanne to check the time, and I couldn’t believe it! We had covered the first 2.5 miles at a 10-minute pace (which for us is pretty good!). And rather than stopping to stretch or walk or anything, we just kept on going! Upon reaching Priest, we stopped for about a minute to stretch, walked for less than a minute then went back at it. We kept each other at a good pace the entire way. During the last mile(ish) I was trying to lengthen my stride a bit. Finally we agreed to sprint the last 50 yards or so. I hadn’t run that fast in a LONG time, and while I can’t maintain a pace even close to that, it felt SO good to do it! Hellll yeaaahhhh!
John had finished well ahead of us – we found him meandering around the Beach Park. We agreed to get dinner again. This time I picked – My Big Fat Greek Restaurant – because I’ve been craving a gyro. Of course it was super yummy, it always is, but I was devastated because once my platter arrived, I ate about 5 bites and was full. SAY WHAT??? Yeah. That’s right. I was full. How that happened is beyond me, but it did. I kept picking a little bit, enjoyed my glass of not-so-red wine, and packed the rest up to go. Now I’ll be eating gyro meat for the next 3 days! And that’s in addition to my leftover enchiladas from Macayo’s on Tuesday! Yay for leftovers and not having to cook! Wahooo!!!
(Side story: I had asked our waitress for the house red. I didn’t really care what she brought to me; I just wanted cheap red wine with my dinner. She offers me whatever wine is on special, so I buy in – I tend to be a sucker for an up-sell. She comes out a few minutes later with a glass of white wine!! Lucky for her I like both, though I prefer reds. But what I didn’t understand is why she would offer a white when I had wanted a red?? Suz thinks maybe she was new and was just pushing the specials as much as she could, as she was trained to do exactly that. Either way, the wine was fantabulous! But I don’t remember what it was called! I guess I’ll just have to go back and scope out their vino menu sometime & hope I can figure it out!)
Looking ahead to Saturday, we are scheduled to run 8 miles. Right now I’m actually pretty excited about the run, but I acknowledge that it may not go nearly as well as last night’s 5 went. So we’ll see!
Throughout this week I’ve been reaching out to some of my friends who are runners, seeking advice on training. Maresa had a lot to say, most of which I already knew/agree with/practice, but it was great to hear it from someone else. Here are the highlights:
1. Feeling ambitious is a good sign. It shows that progress is being made.
2. Running is fickle: Each run is an isolated event. Just because you run well today does not mean that you will do the same tomorrow or even the next day. Either way, stay focused on completing TODAY’S run and don’t compare it to other runs.
3. Stick to the program. (Beth had very insistently provided the same advice earlier this week, just reiterating.)
4. Have faith. Know that your program is working and your foundation is being well-established.
5. Listen to your body. Eat when you’re hungry. Sleep when you are sleepy. And rest when you are tired (even if it means not training for 3 days!).
6. Our bodies are amazing machines. Physically your can do just about anything. It’s the mental aspect that can make it difficult. So…
7. Stay out of your own head. Focus on the sun shining or the birds singing. (One of Scott & Maresa’s friends suggested listening to books on your iPod – I think this is a GREAT idea! I feel like if I did that, I’d get lost in the story & run for days!)
Thanks to Maresa and Beth and everyone else for the continuous support and advice as Suz and I are training. Love you all! J
I officially have a crush on you =)
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