You guys. Youguysyouguysyouguys. GUYS.
Today’s workout: 8.0 mi., 1:16:01, average pace 9:31/mi.
I ran 8 miles on the treadmill this afternoon. EIGHT! That’s a personal treadmill distance record (PTDR – yes I just made that up).And the scary part is, it was pretty easy. I didn’t get on with a specific time or distance goal, I just started running and assumed I’d figure it out as I went. Popped the iPod on random, set myself up at 6.3mph and just went.
And went.
And…went.
To be honest, I didn’t even feel like I was doing ANYTHING until I hit mile 5 or so. Then I figured, okay, I’ll do six.
And six felt too easy.
I decided at that point that I’d be happy with seven, or anything above that. The longest “long” run I’ve done in the past few months was eight miles, twice, but both times were outside. The treadmill is a whole ‘nother beast, with its own set of issues. For me, it’s mental. I typically watch the numbers tick away and psych myself into stopping way before I physically need to.
But today, everything clicked, and I even kicked up the speed for the last quarter mile. No aches and pains, no nagging boredom/antsy “get-me-off-this-thing” feelings…nothing.
So eight miles it was.
And I’m pretty darned happy with it.
I really want to work on getting faster, at this point. If I can easily run 8 miles at a 9:30 pace right now, I’m not terribly concerned about adding 5.1 miles to that in six months (Lake Placid is June 10th). I’ve completed a couple shorter runs (4-5 miles) at or below my goal pace of 9:09, and it’s hard to maintain. I know I couldn’t do it for an entire half marathon at this point.
But I’ve got time.
Sometimes when I have a couple of really crappy runs in a row, I forget what it feels like to have a good one. I want to remember this feeling.
