It’s time for another game of “good decision/bad decision”
I just got back from a run. Well, about an hour ago, but I’d grabbed the wrong key and so was locked out of my house for awhile until the architect got home from his mountain bike ride. And then I showered. And ate lunch. BUT ANYWAYS, this morning I went for a run.
I was determined to run 3 miles. It was my first post-marathon run, and really, with the exception of my 11.5 mile bike ride with soon-to-be-marathoner Sarah last Sunday, my first real post-marathon exercise.
I may have mentioned that I have been sick all week. BUT – I was feeling better yesterday. And I went out to dinner last night, and if one can go out to dinner & have fun, then one is no longer sick, right?
So this morning, I decided to run.
And I did. And lo, it was the hardest short run I have run in a good long while.
You know how, when you’ve been a runner for a while, you start to know about how fast you’re running based on the effort put forth? I kept thinking I was running about 9:45 (give or take), because I felt like I was pushing hard. When I finished & actually checked, turned out I was running about 10:50. It was that hard. Usually a hard run is hard muscularly not cardiovascularly.
There was a point when I felt that my heart was working WAAAY too hard and that it was possible I was going to have a heart attack right then and there. (I briefly bemoaned the fact that my Road ID was on my dresser & not reattached to my running shoes like it should’ve been – how would the architect know that I’d died?)
And now we come to the game part. At this point, I was almost 2 miles into my run, a less than 1/4 mile away from home. Did I
a) go home & console myself with the fact that I’d had a rough week, what with the flu-like symptoms & all
or
b) say “I will run 3 miles, heart attack be damned”
If you answered b), you get a cookie! (Although not from me – I am fresh out of cookies right now.)
I made it, and it only took a little while for my heart rate to return to normal (and by a little while, I mean about 10 minutes).
I feel fine now, and am pleased that I got that first run out of the way. I am thinking I might run like hell in a couple of weeks – although I had originally thought about trying for a 5K PR, but I’m not sure that will be a realistic goal at this point. I know the course, it’s pretty flat but there is a wee hill at the end (it’s basically out & back) that killed me last year (I was just coming off from knee-hab & hadn’t done any hill running for months). ANYWAYS, I may not be able to PR the distance, but I should be able to PR the course. and it’s likely I can go sub 30 again, which would be cool.
Now – I’m off to my nutritionist to see how to lose 15-20 lbs in the next four months.
Happy Friday, all!
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