So, when I was a kid, my dad made me run three miles every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I hated it, especially on Fridays. We would go to the track behind the Cobb County Civic Center. 12 laps. I remember every one of them because I was so focused on hating every minute of every lap. Once I turned 16, I got my first job. That got me out of running.
Meanwhile, I should also point out that I had to take piano lessons when I was a kid. I hated this, as well. I managed to talk my way out of piano when I was about 14.
I was also encouraged to save 10% of all my paychecks when I got my first job. However, I was not forced to do this and, of course, I never saved a penny. In fact, saving was something I never believed in until about three years ago. Needless to say, I am WAY behind in retirement planning..
Dammit! My dad was right...AGAIN...
I wish I had saved some of the money I wasted.
I wish I knew how to play the piano, or any musical instrument, for that matter.
I wish that I had never stopped running.
Phasing running back into my routine has proven to be quite challenging, even debilitating at times. However, despite the fact that I have yet to start reading any of the training/running books that I have purchased, I have been quite cautious as of late. Walking and being on my feet are obviously critical to my job. Injury is not really something I can afford.
That said, I threw caution to the wind today.
I ran a seven day stretch from last Thursday to this past Wednesday, about 25 miles. I had been thinking about my weeks in terms of Monday to Sunday. As a result, I failed to realize that I had crossed the 20 mile per week mark or that I had run seven days in a row. I was a bit sore by Thursday.
I took Thursday and Friday off from running. Now, when I say off, I am not including the treadmill warm up on Thursday before weight training. 20 minutes shouldn't count. Friday, though, was a total rest day, except that I worked on my feet for 13 hours.
Feeling like a loser for missing 2 days in a row, I decided to take advantage of my "rested" legs and plan a longer run.
My longest run to date, and ever in my life, as far as I can remember, was the 6 miler a few weeks back. I have been trying to stick to the 10% more per week rule, but doing 6.6 miles today just didn't seem adequate.
Yep, 8 miles!
I went out to the Greenway this morning with every intention of running to the other end, and then back. Having never done this before, I was unsure of the exact distance, but I knew it to be about 4 miles long.
I started out slow, but slow ended up being a 9:15 pace at mile 1. Not really slow. Almost my normal pace, actually. Slowed up to 9:40ish. And held it.
For the whole first half of the run, I was focused on the fear of burning out and having to deal with a 3-4 mile walk back. Adding 45 minutes to my morning would have ruined the rest of my day, as I had to work all night.
My worries seem to have been for nothing. The second half of the run was a piece of cake. I kept my pace under 10:00 and cruised right through. With Eminem on my side at the finish, my last mile was 9:25. I haven't checked with Garmin yet, but I am pretty sure that the split was negative too.
I felt really good during my post run stretching. I didn't notice any real aches and my left knee didn't seem as weak as it has after some of my other shorter runs. We'll see how I feel tomorrow, but the signs seem encouraging that I didn't push too hard.
Final result: 8.06 miles in 1:18:43.
Not too bad for the longest run of my life, to date...
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