Stay tuned, I have a PSA at the end of this blog.
It's done, Thank God and all things holy. I Gallowalked 7.12 miles and broke through my 6 mile mental block. Oh yeah, mental block. I haven't been able to get my body to go beyond that 6 miles in months. Maybe it's cheating, but I don't give a rat's a**, it got the job done, and that is a lot for a woman who is trying to love running, but the chemistry just isn't there. And yet, I keep plugging away and plodding along.
It's done, Thank God and all things holy. I Gallowalked 7.12 miles and broke through my 6 mile mental block. Oh yeah, mental block. I haven't been able to get my body to go beyond that 6 miles in months. Maybe it's cheating, but I don't give a rat's a**, it got the job done, and that is a lot for a woman who is trying to love running, but the chemistry just isn't there. And yet, I keep plugging away and plodding along.
Here is what I did. Based on his "formula" for 1/2 Marathon training (and my willingness to lie to myself) I decided to go for the 9 min/mile plan: 4 minutes run/1 minute walk, repeat. I usually run in the mornings, but Tom had to be to work at 6:30 AM on Wednesday (No, I am not getting up at 5 AM), so I planned on going Thursday morning. Alas, he had the same work time again, so I went about 1:30 and it was ~82˚F and humid; not killer, but not pleasant. I went out pretty strong, maybe too strong, but I managed at this until about 4 miles. Then I had to rethink my plan. I scaled back to 3:1 and finished out the run. I had my fuel belt with two flasks of nuun and plenty of water fountains along the way (can I hear an Hallelujah?!), which I was so relieved to have brought along (I only decided the last minute to bring them).
I tried to keep a 5K pace for the run portion and my maximum pace was between 7:53-9:14 with all 8:?? in between for each mile. My average speed was brought down by the walking part. After replacing my watch battery about a thousand times I am now much more familiar with how all the functions work. So next time I try this I will use the manual lap feature as opposed to the auto (1 mile) lap feature. Then I can see what my average pace really is for each run portion. Yes, I will do this again.
Yesterday was an abysmal swim. I tried to work on drills, but the lane was so crowded, so I did some very slow laps tying to focus on technique and less on speed. It never really felt right, despite some very small breakthrough moments. I should have gone early in the AM, however the night before I got sucked into watching Apocalypse Now: Redux (Director's cut) at a way too late start time and that is one long ass movie.
On the potty training front (that would be Baby Toots and not me), we have made some tremendous progress. Not that you care, but he has been pooping in the potty for about a year, but we never tackled the pee thing until recently. But today, today we had a standing pee. Threw a couple of Cheerios in the bowl and told him to hit 'em. He thought that was the best thing ever. The next time he went sans the Cheerio carnival game. My boy is growing up**sniff**. It was also time for the semi-annual trip to the shoe store to measure the ever growing biped that is my son. As I suspected, time for new shoes. Why oh why do they cost so much? He now owns a new pair of New Balance sneakers and I still need boots and another pair of shoes of the non sneaker variety.
On the fashion front, I have a PSA. I do illustration work for a sewing pattern company's catalog. I am dismayed to tell you that pleated front pants seem to be making a fashion comeback (remember the 80's?); it was a sad, sad day for me. Please, please resist the urge to buy pleated front pants. They are unflattering, no exceptions, I don't care how thin you are. Resist the pleat; men this goes for you too. Stick to flat front and help keep this world beautiful. That's all I can do, the rest is up to you!
I tried to keep a 5K pace for the run portion and my maximum pace was between 7:53-9:14 with all 8:?? in between for each mile. My average speed was brought down by the walking part. After replacing my watch battery about a thousand times I am now much more familiar with how all the functions work. So next time I try this I will use the manual lap feature as opposed to the auto (1 mile) lap feature. Then I can see what my average pace really is for each run portion. Yes, I will do this again.
Yesterday was an abysmal swim. I tried to work on drills, but the lane was so crowded, so I did some very slow laps tying to focus on technique and less on speed. It never really felt right, despite some very small breakthrough moments. I should have gone early in the AM, however the night before I got sucked into watching Apocalypse Now: Redux (Director's cut) at a way too late start time and that is one long ass movie.
On the potty training front (that would be Baby Toots and not me), we have made some tremendous progress. Not that you care, but he has been pooping in the potty for about a year, but we never tackled the pee thing until recently. But today, today we had a standing pee. Threw a couple of Cheerios in the bowl and told him to hit 'em. He thought that was the best thing ever. The next time he went sans the Cheerio carnival game. My boy is growing up**sniff**. It was also time for the semi-annual trip to the shoe store to measure the ever growing biped that is my son. As I suspected, time for new shoes. Why oh why do they cost so much? He now owns a new pair of New Balance sneakers and I still need boots and another pair of shoes of the non sneaker variety.
On the fashion front, I have a PSA. I do illustration work for a sewing pattern company's catalog. I am dismayed to tell you that pleated front pants seem to be making a fashion comeback (remember the 80's?); it was a sad, sad day for me. Please, please resist the urge to buy pleated front pants. They are unflattering, no exceptions, I don't care how thin you are. Resist the pleat; men this goes for you too. Stick to flat front and help keep this world beautiful. That's all I can do, the rest is up to you!
4 comments:
Good job with your 7mile run (I call it a run even if it was a run/walk because I don't think it's cheating at all!!)
Woo hoo! Breaking that 10K barrier is tough and you did it. Great job.
Thanks for the kick in the ass. I desperately needed it. Mojo still on walkabout, but I feel like there is hope it may return!
Pleated front pants are horrid. They do not look good on anyone..
Congrats on the run break through! I have had similar struggles with my swimming and even did what some might call some Gallo-swimming to get by (freestyle with breastroke breaks to catch my breath). If it's legal to do in a race, it's all good, IMO!
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