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I feel like I haven’t done a solid training recap in a while. Here goes.
I’ve been running like a maniac, and I’ve been improving on my overall time which has been amazing. Since I’ve still been on the treadmill for 90% of my runs, I’ve been upping my mph speed a little bit each week. I think it’s paying off. I feel pretty confident on my runs. Last week was my “down” week in training but I have a 5K coming up this week, and next week I will be traveling so I had to flip flop it a bit. I ended up running 3 and 10.8 (supposed to be 11) miles over the weekend, so I’m in good shape for a more laid back this week.
Since I’ve begun training outside on my long runs, I’ve decided I can’t run more than 6 miles on the treadmill. I have no tv, nothing to do, and I basically stare at a wall for an hour and listen to music on my phone. It’s not so bad most of the time, but sometimes I’d rather just not… Anyways, I don’t love running solo outside, especially on a longer run, but this past weekend I had no buddy to run with so I ventured out on my own. It was surprisingly not so bad.
The first couple of miles went well — I was on main roads. The next part of my route took me through a city park. I could see and hear traffic despite being “hidden” by the trees. I was never in any danger whatsoever. HOWEVER, I am the most paranoid person on the planet, and I just plain old started freaking out. I told myself the night before (as I was freaking out about running for 11 miles alone), that if I did see anyone out as early as I was going on a Sunday morning, it was because they were training for the upcoming race as well. Who else is crazy enough to be out at such an early hour on a Sunday besides distance runners, right?
So of course the first person I see is an older man wearing a safety Orange running shirt, happily bopping along on his run. We said hi and went past each other. I swear he wasn’t even breaking a sweat. Meanwhile, I am keeping my eye peeled to my left, which is where the heavily wooded area is on this particular path. Wouldn’t you know it that all of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I see Safety Orange man running up from behind me. Of course my heart jumps up into my throat. He says hello and bops past me. Eh…
At about mile 4, my stomach started hurting — completely normal for me. I didn’t think much of it except that I ate far too much at dinner the night before, and probably had too much fiber as well. I carb-loaded and had a salad minus the spinach. I had also done the same the week prior and felt exceptional on my 10 mile run. I think this time I ate too much salad, and also probably too much pasta as well.
Back to the point — throughout the first 5 miles, I only saw men on my way. No women. How strange. It definitely gave me a weird feeling. At around mile 6 I had to walk. I ran through my tummy ache as much as I could. Safety Orange man had now passed me THREE TIMES. Not only did I feel slow as heck compared to the older gentleman who hadn’t even broken a sweat despite being up and back on the same 6 mile loop three times, it was kind of annoying to keep seeing the same guy over and over.
I felt like I needed a bathroom ASAP, and I was still miles from home. I texted my husband and told him my problem. I also gave myself a goal point and said “Selfie, if your stomach still hurts by the time you get to this point, call your husband to come pick you up.” My husband texted back and said to walk until I could run again. Which I did. But I never made it to my goal point because I felt too bad at the time, and decided to change my course to get home sooner.
Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as I got out of the wooded trail and back onto the main roads, my stomach didn’t hurt anymore. I continued my run and doubled back a couple times to try to get as close to 11 miles as I could. I ended up at 10.8 total. Good enough for me. I ran to my driveway, and promptly sat my happy ass down on the ground.
That’s my weekend training recap. Probably a little more detail than you cared to know, but the moral of the story is this — if you don’t feel comfortable where you’re running, change your course. And always — always — trust your instinct. Who knows if I was in any danger — I’m actually 100% certain I was not. But I wasn’t comfortable and my body was speaking to me. I’m glad I listened because I completed my solo run with confidence!
Yesterday was yoga day and I decided to step it up a notch. I did not one, but two sessions, totaling an hour of yoga time. This morning was a 3 miler plus strength training. I’m hoping not to be too sore, but I know I need the muscle to be faster and stronger.
All in all, I ended the week with 25.5 miles under my belt. Not too shabby. This coming week I am looking at around 26-27 miles. Good times.
Hope you had a great weekend and have a superior week coming up for you! Let’s talk tomorrow. 🙂
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Are you training for anything? If so, what?
I have an amazing recipe to share with you next week. What’s your favorite kind of food?
