Saturday, January 2, 2010

16 Miler Long Run

I am a morning person.  I like to get up, get my run done and get on with the day.  John and I decided to sleep in, run by the "new" house and work at the house afterwards.  I woke up at 6am, which is sleeping in for me.  I thought we'd leave the house at 7am and be running by 8am.  At 7am, he was just getting up. So I revised my schedule- 7:30am out the door, running by 8:30.  At 8am, I revised my schedule again.  We got to the house at 8:45 and he started cleaning up construction debris.  This could continue on for hours if we didn't get running.  When we finally started our run at 9am I was grumpy.  I had been awake for 3 hours and had a 2 hour plus run in front of me.  I was tired, my legs were tired, my left calf was starting to cramp and then my foot felt numb.  I was hoping my body would warm up otherwise I was not having a good time and didn't know if I would complete the run.  


One nice thing about running an out/back is I break it down into the two parts.  I tell myself I only have to run 8 miles and count down the miles to get there.  Once to the 8 mile mark and turned around, I then only have 8 miles to go. It's much easier for me to break my runs into those pieces.  Eventually not only did my running get easier, but I got my attitude on track and I quit being miserable and blaming John.


My goal for today's run was to run goal pace at 8:45.  Some of the miles were easier than others and I did manage an average of 8:43's for the run.  Only 6 weeks to go.


Happy Running.



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

Jill said...

Wow, speedy! You are going to Knock this marathon out the door!! Nice job!

Relentless Forward Commotion said...

great job, despite the late start!

fancy nancy said...

Way to go speed demon! You are going to rock your marathon and wind up here in Boston for sure!

Anonymous said...

congrats! this is awesome! what an awesome start toward 1,010!

Lindsay said...

nice 16-miler! i am *always* behind schedule it seems for weekend runs. i need to crack the whip on myself, i've been lax for almost a year.

about your 'lazy bones' status - i think i am a very lazy person! haha. it does seem like an oxymoron - marathoner & lazy, but i swear it's possible (and nothing to be ashamed of) :)

thank you for your comment! it's silly - i still wonder if i could be a better runner had i been more consistent with running. i'm known for being hard on myself though, my parents try to remind me of that often.

Teamarcia said...

Very nicely done!

Natalia said...

Ooh nice run!! Great time too. I have not yet seen Invictus, but will soon. Initally thought I might go off Matt Damon (as I like Francois Pienaar qijte a bit), but other Saffers have told me he is very good. I am curious to see Matt Damon play rugby though! Does your boyfriend play, and is there a local team?

GISrunner said...

Great run, especially overcoming the downer of running later than you thought. You are going to have a great marathon with dedication & determination like that!

Oh, and I really like your idea of starting a 2009 accomplishments post & save it as a draft to post at the end of the year. I think that'll be a great way of touching base throughout the year on your progress.

Keep up the good work!

RunKathyRun said...

Christina,

Thanks for checking out my blog; I so look forward to the 1010 in 2010 challenge!

Based on your BQ time; we're fairly close to the same age group, I'm just a little older as my BQ time is 4:00 :-) I REALLY REALLY want to run Boston in 2011 as I turn 50 that year. Let's keep one another on track & motivated.

Happy running and bloggin in 2010!

Kathy

Burt said...

8:43 pace, very nice.

kilax said...

Great run and great pace!

Oh gosh. I am the SAME WAY when running with my husband. I am UP and ready to go. I hate to wait! I am trying to work on my patience ;)

Carol said...

Thanks for stopping by. I'm north of you (Utah). We're heading your direction next week for the Phoenix R&R so I hope it's nice weather!