Chapter 2 page 554–Sunday 70 (TR 189)

You’ll NEVER believe what I did today (but you have to wait until I RAVE about the AWESOME weather to find out).

There was just one word to describe today’s weather – PERFECT!  It was a collision of ideal environmental conditions that happen only a handful times a year.  It was that exceptional Spring day following winter where you could easily just be outside the entire day. 

Weather stats:  65*, 7 mph winds from the south (adding to the warmth), perfect blue skies with fluffy white clouds, and bountiful sunshine. 

See for yourself . . .

Now with such a beautiful day + an extra hour of sunlight in the evening . . . how could someone BEST take advantage of this situation?  An outdoor run, of course.  BUT my run today was unlike any other run EVER!  After peeling myself off the couch having been sucked into a marathon of Hoarders (sigh), I opted to run the same route as “C” and I did last Wednesday (6.35 miles).  The plan?  Run 2 songs and walk 1 song . . .though I wasn’t sure if I could actually do it for the full time. 

WELL GUESS WHAT?!?!?!

After my normal 10 minute warm up I started to run and just kept going thinking that a week ago I ran 2 miles so I’ll run “to the lake” which would be almost 2 miles.  I made it “to the lake” and then convinced myself I could go to the end of the path.  When I arrived at the end of the path I had been running for 37 minutes so I thought that I will run until it’s 40 minutes.  At 40 minutes I was “at the bench” and thought if I dig deep I can run to the other end of the path.  I figured it would probably be 3 songs but to make sure that I actually got there, I decided I would run 5 more songs (and you know what – in my head that seemed like an easy thing to do – WOW – who was this girl on the run today – 2 months ago I couldn’t run for 3 songs let alone 5 at.the.end.of.a.run).  At this point my legs were getting tired, but I was no longer focused on the distance, it was all about the songs – that was a great mental strategy to help me push through.  As I had suspected, the end of the path was only 3 songs, but since I had “committed” to run for 5 songs, I continued on running and ended up only 7 minutes from my car. 

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

I ran for 70 straight minutes.  Please don’t get me wrong – it was NOT fast.  It probably shouldn’t even be called running – it was more of a shuffle, but it was continuous!  There was ZERO walk breaks!  There were NO intervals.  It was just me running. The entire thing was 6.36 miles and of that I walked 10 minutes at the beginning and 7 minutes at the end, I’m guessing that I ran about 5.1 miles in 70 minutes – completely unimpressive compared to everyone else, but what a gigantic accomplishment for me!!!!!  It was a first – even when I was in the Army I have never run for 70 straight minutes! 

Here are some things that I learned today:

-drinking water while running is WAY more challenging (even with squirt bottles on an iFitness belt) that I ever imagined.  It really made my heart rate go up and made me more fatigued.  I’m guessing I’ll get better as I get more practice.  Never ran and drank before today!  And I do mean that I have NEVER drank while running before!

-I REALLY wish I had a fresh piece of gum (or two) along the way!  It’s not something that I would normally need for only a 6 miler, but I really relied on my gum to get me through today.

-There is immeasurable benefits to having 3 awesomely motivating songs in a row on your ipod.  These 3 songs in a row (Who Says, Dynamite, and Down) were so motivating that I played them 3 times in a row. 

- All of my cross training (including all those dang lunges and squats) must be paying off in increased strength and endurance – PTL that it’s really working and that I’m just wasting time and money!  AWESOMENESS!

-We are al capable of more than we think (Thanks Molly @ I’m A Sleeper Baker for promoting this truth)! 

Thank you for sharing in my celebration!!!!!!! 

You bloggers are the BEST!