Last Thursday, I was supposed to go running. I knew I wouldn't have time this weekend and I really needed to get a workout in on Thursday. I couldn't run from work because a co-worker needed a ride home and couldn't stay. I'm learning that if I come home after work, I have a difficult time getting back out for my run. It seems to work best if I go right after work.
Anyway, back to Thursday. I came home and, of course, was tired. Nick had a headache, so we walked to the corner market to get him a soda (the caffeine helps). I was really craving salt and vinegar chips, so I bought a smallish bag. I say smallish because it was the smallest they had, but it really had a couple of servings (I wish the came in smaller bags). When I bought them, I knew it wasn't a great idea. It would be difficult to run with those chips in my belly. As I sat on the couch eating them, I told myself I needed to stop or I wouldn't be able to run because my tummy wouldn't be happy. At the same time, in the back of my mind, I also told myself that if I continued to eat them, I wouldn't feel good enough to run and could therefore be lazy and skip the run. Unfortunately, I gave in to the latter voice and skipped my run. I felt terribly guilty about it, but once my tummy hurt there wasn't much else to motivate me to run.
On Friday, I continued to feel horribly guilty for skipping my run. I was trying to figure out if I could run after work, but knew I wouldn't have time because we were set to leave town for the weekend. I decided that I had to run that day, so I ran on my lunch break. I've never done this before. I didn't want to finish my work day sweaty and potentially smelly. However, I decided that I didn't have a choice. So I ran.
It was a beautiful day and I ran hard, knowing it would only be a short 3 mile run. Recently, I've been running at an average of 11:30ish min/mile pace. Friday, I averaged a 10:36 min/mile pace. I always start slow and end hard. My last mile I ran at approximately a 10 min/mile pace, while my last 1/4 mile I ran at a sub 9 pace. I'm told that tempo runs are a special kind of run that need to be incorporated into your training schedule where you get faster as you run. I always run like this. I suppose that after years of having coaches telling me to finish strong, it became ingrained in me. I guess most people don't naturally run this way. I'm glad I do. It gives me one last thing to think about.
I'm proud of myself for making up my run at lunch on Friday, but not proud of convincing myself to engage in unhealthy habits the night before because I felt like being lazy. I am already growing from this experience and learning a lot about myself. I hope that these revelations will continue to help me grow and develop a healthier life.
Cheers!
Ashley
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