Thursday, August 11, 2011

Running? Isn't that supposed to be part of this blog?

I have been running fairly consistently, but I haven't been blogging about it, at all. Partially, that is because I am a part of a running forum and I aim to write about my running there. But, I haven't been writing about it there, either. I'm feeling a little unmotivated about my runs lately, and that needs to change. I have some pretty lofty goals in the next few months, including a 27:xx 5k race in October, a 57:xx 10k race NEXT WEEK (!) and a 2:05ish half marathon in October.

So why am I not more motivated???

I'm struggling to find that drive that I had in the spring when I was training for the Cabot Trail Relay Race. Back then, I was in the half marathon clinic at the Running Room, and while I am not really a true "group runner", I really found the clinic runs helpful. I ran with them on Sundays and Thursdays, and ran with Heart & Sole on Wednesdays for hill repeats. Now, I'm pretty well running on my own, and not sticking to a set schedule. I'm sort of following the same schedule that I did in the spring, but I am also playing ultimate frisbee which I am pretending is a speed/interval workout, which really it isn't.

Now my races are getting close, and I'm worried that I'm not doing enough to hit my goals. Now, I did run a 7:27 mile last weekend at the Bridge Mile, and that shocked the heck out of me. That should give me some confidence that I have more in my legs than I thought I did, but it just worries me that my stamina is not where it needs to be at this point in longer distances.

So here's what I'm hoping with this long winded blog update... Blogging about my runs is going to help me to get out there and get in those longer steady runs and longer weekend runs that I've been avoiding. Reminding myself of the good runs that I get in, and the good habits that I will reinstate will boost the confidence that I need to pull off those new personal bests in all distances. (I hope!)

Here is what I need to keep in mind when thinking of skipping a workout or just changing to an easy run. See that elevation profile? There's a HUGE hill about 6 miles into the race - about a 300 foot rise over a mile, or 100m in 1.6k. I do not want that hill to kick my butt. That's what I need to think of when I think I don't need to run hills.


With that in mind, I ran yesterday on my lunch break, and decided to tackle Citadel Hill. I only ran up once, but I ran it at a tempo pace, as I was running a tempo run. It was a great run (finally). I'm thinking of how I can start working in more hills on every run. I may not do "repeats", but I need to start making sure there are lots of hills in most of my runs. Not a problem, living in HRM.

2 comments:

  1. So cool to read about your running goals and training and progress! I hope that this helps you find a lot more motivation.

    I think the weather is making it hard to find motivation too...

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  2. Today's weather was much better! I think it helped!

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