I wanted to clock 100 miles within 4 weeks but it was not to be. Richmond is the midst of thunderstorms that strike with no warning of any sort. I don't mind running in 90 degree heat but there is something about lightning strikes that scares the hell out of me. In my small self-centered existence I visualize every bolt of lightning programmed to strike me... so running in the rains is out of question. I did however work out a bit in the gym.
But week 4 wasn't all bad.. I had one good run of 9 miles which is my longest thus far. I took about 1 hour and 45 mins for it and I was pleasantly surprised to note that I was not as tired as I thought I would be. I did stop once for a drink of Gatorade and I made sure I had enough energy gels to keep me going. Thats something new that I have discovered and they help me when I run in excess of 1 hour at a stretch.
My feet of course were not thrilled with the unexpected exertion. This run was good since I got to know a lot about my body.
a. My feet hate running. Its not their fault. I have flat feet and so I tend to over-pronate. So to fix this issue as best as I can, I got a new pair of stability shoes from Brooks. More about that in another post though.
b. My body is uncooperative atleast for the first 20-30 minutes when it acts like a little kid who wont go to school at any cost. After that however its literally a piece of cake. Somehow the body ceases to have a mind of its own and listens to the mind :)
c. Music can make or break my running session. I have read a bit about the influence of music on exercise and honestly I have read equally contradictory views. For now fast, peppy music works well and so does devotional music.
d. I can run best when the mind (or is it the heart?) dreams up visions of all the good things that I believe will come my way. Positive thoughts greatly improves performance.
e. Endorphins exist! I used to think this was a hypothetical concept concocted to make people feel good about all the exercise they did. Its really a high to cover distances on foot that I once thought were possible only by bus, car etc. This "high" is what keeps me going. I just take enough care not to exert and work up an injury.
So week 4 in terms of numbers was worth about 15 miles
Week 5 and 6 even lesser- about 10 miles each and mostly "treadmill miles". :Treadmill miles" is a term that I have coined and in my mind I regard them a secondary status and every time I run on a treadmill I think I am cheating in some way. In my mind that loves mathematical equations, there is a formula for this too:
Treadmill miles=.75*Outdoor miles.
Week 7 has been good so far. I have run three times and covered 5.6, 5.6 and 8.3 miles. I hope to run again tomorrow so that I can close the week at over 25 miles. These sadly are treadmill miles as the weather is still not too kind for running-either pouring or sticky hot and once its cool, its almost sun-down. Its August end now and I guess days will be much too shorter now for my liking. So there is something to think about- either stick to "treadmill miles" or wake up in the morning and run. I am not a morning person and I don't like compromises as well- so here's something to think about.
Total miles till now is 123 in 7 weeks.. an average of around 18 miles a week.
Next few weeks agenda is to constantly clock 25 miles a week so as to up this average.
Till then, Keep running!
