Lesson 1001...know your route!
Yesterday was hot and humid when I ran. I was supposed to do 3 slow, easy miles. In the heat and humidity there are no easy miles. My dog and I got back to my office and he literally collapsed on the floor. Usually he is ready to play after 3 miles. But it was a good workout and I felt good about it. Today was a different story...
Today was my long run. Since I am new to running, my long runs are pretty short. I was supposed to do 5.5 miles. I try to do my long run at a slow even pace so that I can run the whole thing. I decided to run on the river trail near my home. As you guessed, it winds along the river. It is nice because there are markers every 1/4 mile...Or there were!!! I started running and the first mile was hard. I have found that it takes me about 1.5 miles to really get my stride going and to feel comfortable. I wasn't really gung ho about today's run, but I decided to give it a mile and a half. Most of the time by then I am feeling good and even if I am not, I at least have to run 3 miles because I have to get back from where I started.
So I pass the one mile mark and am starting to feel a little more comfortable when the markers on the trail seem to be spacing out a little more than they seemed like they were in the beginning. If I would have known I was going to have trouble, I could have read the numbers telling me which marker I was at, but I didn't do that in the beginning. So now I was trying to figure out how far I had gone. It was a pretty hot day. A lot of the trail is wooded, but when it isn't, it is right in the middle of the city and it is HOT! I started feeling like I missed out on one or two markers. I was keeping track of my pace, so it helped a little. Then it just all seemed to fall apart. I couldn't tell where I was or how far I had gone. I thought I had gone two miles so I figured three more markers and I could turn around. But some of those markers seemed off too. I was so frustrated by now I went up another marker and stopped at the fish ladder. I had never really seen it before so I figured I would take a break. By now I was really POed. Not only did I not know how far I had gone, but I was also appearing to have horrible pace. I ended up walking quite a few times. I think my frustration got to me just as much as the heat.
So I started back. The return trip wasn't as frustrating because I knew where I was going and had a general idea of how much further I needed to go. On the way back, some of those markers that I couldn't find started showing up... Maybe I had gone a little two far? Maybe I went out 3 miles instead of 2.75. Oh well, that would only add an extra half mile...no problem. But by now, I was so psyched out and mad that I was doing so poorly, that I ended up walking quite a bit. The heat seemed unbearable. I have the horrible psychological problem that I think I can't run in the heat, and today it caught up with me. I finally get back to my car and I am spent. It was one of the most miserable runs I have had since I started. I am glad that I know that there are good runs and bad runs and this one bad run doesn't mean I should quit.
Now I am back at my house and I need to map my run online so that I can see how far I ran and jot it down in my log. I ran a little over 7 miles! No wonder it was taking me longer than I expected and the markers seemed further apart...THEY WERE! This is only the second time I have run 7 miles. I did it last Saturday for my long run. I was supposed to do 5. But at 4.5 miles I felt so good, that I kept going around the park near my house. I loved last weeks run...the difference was that I wanted to do it last week and I knew what I was getting myself into. So that is why the lesson of the day is KNOW YOUR ROUTE!
Total Miles Today = 7 Approximate Miles Since Starting = 375
Posted in: on Saturday, July 28, 2007 at at 6:48 PM
