Mind Games

This morning I headed off to the gymnasium to get in my 4-5 miles for today. After Billy's workout yesterday, my whole body is a little bit tired (in a good way) and I wasn't sure how motivated I would be today while running. Normally I listen to music when I'm running on the treadmill as I somehow find it to be more fun while running to music, but today I decided to switch things up and listen to a podcast.

The one I chose to listen to was a This American Life podcast, which until I was looking it up, I thought was called "Mind Games" (the reason for the post title today). Except now I realize that it was really called "Long Shot," which was still pretty applicable, since it seemed like a long shot that I'd actually complete all 5 miles. Really, I thought that I'd have to play mind games with myself in order to finish the 5 miles or even 4 miles, and it turned out that I was correct.

I ran the first two miles without a lot of trouble. But then I was tired and wanted to walk for a minute, which I did. Then I decided that I'd just run for one mile and stop again before doing two more. So, I'd have three chunks of running. That strategy sort-of worked until I was done with the third mile and realized that I didn't really want to run two more.

So, I ran one more. At the end of Mile 4, I was feeling like I'd be a big quitter if I didn't just do the last mile. Plus, I knew I needed to get in as many miles as possible this week, especially since I shorted myself by a mile (or two) yesterday. So, I decided that I'd do intervals in my last mile to make it go by as quickly as possible. And it totally worked!

Drew came by when I was running my last interval (at 9.5) and I ran at that speed for just over a minute or so and he said that I looked really strong and comfortable and that I really looked like a runner. Which is totally crazy to me. I'm not a runner! I'm supposed to hate running! But I will admit I like its simplicity compared to other sports.

In total, I didn't quite hit my mileage for the week, but next week is a fresh start and I'm just doing the best I can. I certainly think that I'll have to be more focused on this going forward, especially as the long runs get longer, so that I can make sure that I really can complete the half-marathon and still be smiling at the end (and maybe even sprinting!).

Running Miles 1-2
Time: 19:37
Distance: 2.00 miles
Pace: 9:48/mile
Calories: 228
Maximum HR: 175
Average HR: 167

Running Mile 3
Time: 9:11
Distance: 1.00 mile
Pace: 9:11/mile
Calories: 121
Maximum HR: 184
Average HR: 177

Running Mile 4
Time: 9:52
Distance: 1.00 mile
Pace: 9:52/mile
Calories: 121
Maximum HR: 179
Average HR: 171

Running Mile 5
Time: 8:47
Distance: 1:00 mile
Pace: 8:47/mile
Calories: 111
Maximum HR: 189
Average HR: 175