August 26, 2013
This happened to be an unexpected run. I went down to the Fleet Feet Sports South loop opening to attempt to get a gift card and ended up working the fun run, as an employee! I interview with Fleet Feet about three weeks ago and got hired. I have not officially started with them, but I am excited to get going.
On my first official night as an employee, I got assigned to work the 10:00 pace group with another employee. We did an four mile easy run at that pace and I got a chance to talk to some people in the group. I did my best to encourage one runner who looked like they had just decided to get into running recently. The runner really impressed me with the fact that they did not give up. They were really tired by the end of the run, but they run/walked the four miles. I always tell people to set small goals when they start running. Once those goals are achieved, set a different set of goals.
August 27, 2013
What a hot day! I had something to do early in the morning at my school, so it really worked out that I could run early in the day instead of the afternoon. I got off to another slow start at the beginning of this run. This time it included the first two miles.
I had been a little sore from working out with the volleyball team and the school's sports performance coach. I do not think it had much to do with my slow start though. Things started to feel good by the third mile and the run ended very well. Miles two through five were run at an 8:01, 8:18 and 7:24 pace. That is a big difference, but I am glad that I could finish run strong. Even if I am not happy with a time, it always feels good to end a run strong and gives me confidence for the next run.
August 28, 2013
The midweek eight mile has been nice lately because my school is about eight miles from my place and I can just run there. I had some fun on this run with an unknown runner who ran part of the same course I did. She definite had no idea that she pushed me to run a little quicker. It ended up being one of my better runs in a while.
I still felt sore from Monday's workout but my legs kept chugging along. Somewhere along mile two of my run, I saw a woman up ahead turn on to the same block I would be running on. I had no idea how long she had been running or how long she would be running, but I waned to pass her and pick-up the pace on my run. I ended up doing both and felt good about it. On a few occasions, I would look back to see where she had been and I would think, "Oh no, she is catching up." I kept running hard so she would not pass me.
The mysterious woman disappeared somewhere around four of my run(I think). I wish I could thanked her for encouraging me on my run without even noticing. Other than the stretch between miles four and five (which seem to be a common slow zones from my run when I run this way), the rest of the run went great. I ended with negative splits on the last three miles of the run. I got some interesting news when I got done with my run.
August 29, 2013
I got asked to run with the cross country team when I could. This made me laugh a little because I never would have ever expected to run with/coach a cross country team. Nevertheless, I looked forward to the chance to run with some of our better kids. The only thing that made me nervous is that this would be my fourth consecutive day of running.
We were assigned to do a five mile loop that would lead us back to the school. It had also been interesting to run in a group because I am so use to running by myself. This run would challenge the notion hat running is not a team sport. My group stayed together and kept a very solid pace during the run.
The length of the run actually ended up being somewhere around 4.8 miles (I got the extra .2 miles in). We stretched, did 50 push-ups and foam rolled after we were done running. They also did an ice bath! I decided at the recommendation of fellow blogger, Emily.
Trying to enjoy my first ice bath
The first couple of minutes are really tough. Once those two minutes are over, you stop thinking about how cold it is. I also suggest not moving because it makes the water even colder. My legs felt great afterwards and I would do it again. My legs would be ready for long run Sunday.
September 1, 2013
The athletic director a my school asked me if I had a long run planned for the weekend and I mentioned my 13 mile run. I almost said, "just 13 miles." It is crazy to think that I said almost said just 13 miles out loud. I guess subconsciously I think 13 is an easy run now. Yikes.
Maybe that thinking helped my confidence on Sunday because my run went very well. I stayed around an eight minute mile the whole time. I ended up running the majority of this run on the lakefront path. I generally do not like the lakefront path, but I decided I did not want to stop too much on my run.
Even though I did not want to stop too much, I had to stop once because I got nervous about my breathing just before mile seven. My chest hurt for some reason, my breathing did not feel well, so I stopped and walked for about a minute. I had to remember that getting to the race on October 13 is the long-term goal of this run; time should not be a factor. Despite stopping for that time period, this ended up being my one of my better runs since the Rock 'N' Roll Half-Marathon. I had a strong finish and ended up having a great rest of the day.
Brief preview of this week
My hamstrings have been a little sore. It has not stopped my running but they have just been annoying. Depending on how I am feeling tomorrow, I may update this post during a long ride to and from our football game. That is all from me today.
Keep working hard
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