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Friday, June 5, 2015

Running wild and running free

I did my first run in...well in a long time...last night. I set out with no real plan except to get myself out there and put some miles on my shoes.

I was tired, really tired, before the run. I had not slept well the night before, and the normal stresses of life were just draining me. I almost called off the run, and then, like so many times before, when I opened my front door, this months Runners World was waiting for me. Motivation just when I needed it.

So I laced up, crammed my new phone awkwardly into my armband (I really do need to get a new one,) and drove myself out the canal path. I knew the run was going to be a hard one, so I wanted a nice flat easy run, where I could cut it as short as I needed to.

I got new running sunglasses for my birthday, and this was the first time I ran with them on. I'm happy to say they performed admirably, and I was able to run without squinting or having to constantly push my sun glasses back up my nose. They have interchangeable lenses, so I'll do a more thorough review after I've used them a few more times.

I ran wearing my Glycerin 11's, which are quickly becoming my new favorite shoes. My Mizuno's are still covered in powder from the color run, so it was nice to be able to have a second pair of kicks to just grab and go. I'm still not 100% on the Transcends, the extra cushioning changes my gait so much that I end up tiring out faster (which I guess is the point after all.)

The run itself was hard, like I was expecting. I ran slow (really slow.) I felt every step of the way. But at the same time, it felt awesome to be out there. It was that same weird mix of "Oh my god I hate this why do I do this? and "This is the best thing ever, why don't I do this more?" that I get whenever I'm away from running for too long. I'll know I'm back in it when the ratio shifts and the hate starts to fade a bit. (Which is also when I'll know it's time to turn up the intensity.)


I did three solid, slow miles. An out and back along the canal path. The weather was perfect, and I was feeling good enough at the end to be smiling and giving friendly waves to other people out on the trail.


Today I'm a little sore, sportin' the compression socks under my jeans, But I am once again reminded of why I run, because I like myself so much better as a runner. I don't notice it happening when I stop running, but the stress and anxiety slowly ratchets up with each non-running day, and the unhealthy food and all my little bad habits start creeping back in. Luckily, it takes just one single day of lacing up to remind me and get me pointed back in the right direction.

I'm still gunning for the 500 mile mark this year. I fell a little behind in the month of May, so I'll have to kick it up a bit to hit the goal. I'm going to have to average over 45 miles a month to hit that goal. But broken down that's only a little over 11 miles a week. I can totally do that.