Last Nights run was Spooktacular...
As you know we are back to running around the lake and Mandy had the idea to 'shake things up' and run the opposite direction around the lake then we were used to going. Which was fine by all of us. We needed a change of scenery.
Little did I know that that route was much more 'wooded' and hilly, and when you're running at your own pace, you tend to pull away from 'the pack' so to speak and the next thing you know you're all alone...on a path...that is dark, and wooded, and you hear all kinds of noises (or you would if you didn't have your iPod blaring in your ear so that you COULDN'T hear all kinds of noises.) and wildlife could jump out and attack you at any minute. But they didn't..so that's a bonus.
So needless to say that fact that I felt completly isolated in the dark woods kept me running my little butt off.
Okay, so there was an occasional couple walking or kids riding their bikes, but still....it was spooky.
And definetly not the same as running on the wide open path across the lake where you could see eachother and keep track of where everyone is at all times...and can see the deer as they come bolting down the hill at you...and not have to worry about them jumping out of the trees and scare you have to death and peeing your pants. Which did not happen. But it could have been a real possibility because of all that water I chugged before running....
Anywhoo...The 'hills' were a killer for me. I was definetly feeling the pain, especially on the run back.
I had decided again to try and shoot for a 10 mintute run, then a small break, then another 10 minute run back. The first run went as planned. This time I didn't start my timer until after our 5 minute warm-up walk so that I'd have a better idea of how far I actually ran. At the 10 minute mark I ran .93 miles. Not good. I would love to get to around a 8 min mile...but not sure if that's going to happen. At this point I'd be happy with anything under 10 mintues.
At the 10 minutes mark I turned around and started on my way back. Walked for about 3 mintues and then picked up the running again, but it was much harder to keep the running up...those darn hills!!
It felt like I was running forever on the way back, but it had ended up being only about 4 1/2 mintues and I have to give myself another small break.
To be honest, at this point I didn't pay much attention to how much I ran/walked. I just wanted to get out of those woods and find everyone else. I started to have a small panic attack that I was lost, but then came across a walker that I had run past in the beginning, so I figured I was heading in the right direction and picked up the running again. By the time I got back up towards the parking lot, I spotted Mandy, who I hadn't seen since the first 7 1/2 minutes of running and felt much better, but was tired for sure.
I think I probably ended up running close to 8 or 9 minutes on the second run, but they were broken up by a few brisk walks, especially up hill.
I can't remember now what the Garmin said when I stopped running..either 24 or 26 minutes...so shorter then the previous run back at the lake, but since we were on a different 'path' I didn't have a good sence of the distance we had gone or anything to compare it to time wise.
Distance wise, I was sitting at 2.04 miles.
I guess thats decent...but still aways to go to that 3.1 mile goal.
We've also talked about heading over to 'the other lake' where our race is actually going to take place to see if we can figure out the path of that race and try and run it to see what we are up against. We have a feeling it's also going to be a pretty hilly path/race and would like to try and practice running it before the big day.
I'm hoping it's not too bad...and I'm still praying hard for nice weather for August 15th!! We've been pretty spoiled here! This Friday the high temp is forcasted to be 90 degrees and if it hits that, it will officially be the HOTTEST day we've seen in July yet. That is just crazy!!! Usually by this time, 90 would be considered a cool day!
This is one thing I am very thankful for right now. I know the cool weather has really helped keep me motivated and in 'shape' to run. And by that I mean, NO KNEE PAIN! Even with being back on the pavement. That has been great!!
So as a recap:
- Still working up to 3.1 miles
- This week the workout goal is 2.5 miles or 25 straight minutes of running each day this week
- We are back at 'the lake' with a goal to move to 'the other lake' maybe by the end of this week
- Tues. if we are back on the 'original' path we were doing at the lake, I'm going to try and push myself to get to 1 1/2 miles of running before stopping..not matter the time it takes.
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