Run Streak: Day Three

I have decided to start a run streak, running at least one mile every day. I haven't really chosen an end date. I should probably do that, but I guess for now, at least until the half-marathon. I'm hoping it will make me faster, something I've been working on for over a year now. Not every run will include Henri, because sometimes it will be raining and he hates the rain. Sometimes I will be using my run as a warm up before my strength training and taking Henri along will take twice as long. Yesterday I ran a mile and a half, solo.

I would like to say that it is already working. Our first mile today was 8:45, which is the fastest mile I've had in quite awhile. I'm sure it had nothing to do with my almost break down into tears before the run. Either way, that felt good. Then I remembered I was still sick and I should probably take it easy. I did not anticipate this run was going to go very well. Yesterday was leg day. I'm still constantly blowing my nose. I didn't feel right. Somehow, we managed to pull it off. I probably pushed a little more than I should have, but I felt pretty good most of the run. I almost considered trying to go for a long run. I'm glad we didn't. It clouded up and the sky dumped shortly after we finished our five miles. Henri doesn't like the rain, remember? I also would not have been able to do it. I am not ready, but I'm working on it.

We're Back!

Two weeks later...

Well, that did not go as planned. The procedure went fine, but of course after a few days, I was feeling better, just a little tender...sometimes. Instead of working out as I had planned, I got sick. At first I thought that it was because I was not running that the cold caught me, but then I decided that it was actually that God gave me a cold so that I wouldn't push too hard and pull my stitches because He knows me and He knows I would have. The only way to get me to rest was to knock me down with snot and phlegm.

I started working out again on Monday. Actually, my arm was already sore on Monday from playing Chuck-it with Henri at the park on Sunday. Yeah, apparently I lost all my arm strength in the matter of 10 days. I could barely lift my arm and I didn't even Chuck-it that much. I kept it lighter weights since I'm still not supposed to lift over 15 lbs.

So, while I'm getting better, I still have congestion, which of course makes a run a little difficult, but today was more about loosening up my legs (Because, oh, are they sore!) and getting warmed up and back to adding the miles as soon as I can. I planned for one to two, just to loosen up. We did three. Mile three was really hard though. I had already stopped to blow my nose multiple times and I could feel it building up in my lungs, making it harder to breath. So, slowed down, but we finished three.

The good news is that if I can run ten plus with snot and phlegm, I should be in good shape for the half! Henri is definitely a cuter running partner though.

Time-Out

This was our last run for two weeks. I'm having a procedure done tomorrow and I'm not allowed to run, lift over fifteen pounds or any other kind of repetitive movement that might pull my stitches for two weeks. I know, poor timing, but we're still seven weeks out. I'm fairly confident that I can add three miles in five weeks and still have a successful half-marathon. I'll probably build a legs, abs and glutes workout for those two weeks. I'll find a way to get it done without pulling the stitches in my back.

I set my mind to five miles. The sun was warm, but the wind was cold, and there was still a lot of it. It was tough. The best part was when another runner was coming up behind us and knowing how Henri stops sometimes, we stepped off to the side and let him go by. Henri decided that he wanted to run with him, so there was a good stretch of no stopping and Henri really pushing to keep with him. It probably only felt like pushing because I was starting to struggle after running into the wind. I did my best. We kept up with him at a pretty steady pace for about a mile, but I wasn't really having the best run. I was proud of what I did. The important part is that after I let the guy go on, we turned back into the neighborhood and finished our five miles.

I am allowed to walk during my two week rest period. I'll make sure Henri still gets some exercise. 

The Power of High Five

I wasn't sure how my body was going to feel about running ten miles today. My legs don't seem to fully recover from the strength training (which is pretty quad, hamstring and glute heavy) throughout the week, but I did have yesterday off thanks to rain and wind. We started in reverse, hoping to have a straightaway at the end rather than having to loop through the neighborhood when I'm running out of gas. Despite the looping, we started off strong. I felt pretty good. Every time I checked our pace, it was around 8:35. When I felt like I was struggling, I was at 9:35. 

Maybe we started out too strong in the beginning. I didn't feel like I was pushing too much at all, but I started to feel it a lot more in mile four. I spent most of mile five wondering when ten miles was going to feel easy or at least easy-er. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do it. We settled into a steady pace of 10:35. Endurance doesn't ever feel like my problem. I just struggle with forward motion. Luckily, I have a Henri to help with that. I admit, he was pulling me at points.

Once I got past mile six, I was feeling better. This is the opposite of every time I've run ten miles in the past. Once I could tell myself we only had 5k left, I was feeling much better. My reverse plan was working...until we were down to a mile and half. We ran out of straightaway. We had to keep turning, which always throws Henri off. We still managed to cut seconds off our time and even with slowing down, we managed to keep every mile under 11 minutes.

So, I guess the answer to my question as to when our ten mile run would get easier might be now. I mean, at least the last four miles were easier and better and that makes the run feel so much better. Now, if I can just get my route figured out...