For some reason, I was dreading my run this morning, which is not like me at all. I suspect there were several factors in play: I was up at 2 am cleaning up vomit on the carpet from my sick kiddo (he panics and instead of trying to get to the bathroom, he pukes where he is) and then I wasn't able to fall asleep. Since graduating from Ju-ju's 10k plan mid-November I've been building up my distances using a similar structure to her 10k plan. This week, I was reviewing some notes I made on how to build my distances safely, and came across something I had forgotten - the long run is supposed to be less than 50% of your total weekly mileage. I forgot this part, so my other runs this week only added up to 11.8km and I was hoping to run 14.5 km today. I was holed up inside over the Christmas break due to extreme cold and only got a couple runs in on the treadmill (although I did manage to do 8 and 13k somehow on it). My right knee felt weak once I got to finally run outside so I wasn't sure how it would hold up so I found and started some knee strengthening exercises last night. I got my on-call schedule last week and my next weekend on call is sooner than anticipated (next weekend ☹️), messing up planned increases in run distance (I was planning on running 16k next weekend). We've built a new clinic and are supposed to be moving in the following weekend. I also got an email about a great seminar that is scheduled for the Sunday in a city 3 hours away. How can I fit everything in and still get 3 runs in. I don't think 3 weekly runs are possible on the next 2 weeks. All of these thoughts had me questioning my decision to enter a virtual HM in March and was bringing me some undue stress. I mentioned to my wonderful hubby this morning my concerns about attempting 14.5 k this morning. He said to go give it a try, and who knows, maybe once I got going, everything would feel better since it usually does and if not, just do what felt good.
So, I got my gear on, filled up my water bottle for my running belt with my new electrolyte solution (I got quite whoozy after my 12k run, so on misswobbles advice, I ordered some Tailwind), threw a couple mars bars bites in a baggie in case the solution wasn't enough and drove to my favourite path to use for an out and back long run.
I had made a new playlist on Spotify filled with songs from my youth (good ol' 70's and 80's rock and pop songs). I wasn't sure how the battery from my phone would hold out for a longer run streaming Spotify and Runkeeper at the same time since I usually run with a playlist that is downloaded on my phone but it held out just fine, barely using up any battery despite being out for an hour and 40 minutes. The path looked frosty but didn't seem too slippery so I put my slip on spikes in my pockets just in case it got worse. I tried to start out slow but quickly found myself falling into my comfortable 5k pace. I tried to will myself to slow down but had planned to walk every 2-3 k to take a sip of fuel (I haven't mastered running and drinking) so figured the pace would fall into place as it usually does. I was loving the new tunes - I will survive by Gloria Gaynor came on at 5k, I would've preferred it at 12k but that's ok. Nazareth's Love Hurts followed by Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven kept me going to where I thought my turn around point would be. I had changed my garmin to show pace and distance instead of time and distance and I had misread it a few times so when I reached the bottom of a crazy hill at the end of the pathway I was only at 6.5k. Although I'm looking forward to trying some "back stitch" hill repeats Sandyscroll mentioned earlier this week on this hill in the spring, I didn't want it to be today. I saw a pedestrian bridge leading onto the golf course that had lots of foot prints so I followed it but quickly found myself slogging through crusty snow. Way too hard going when attempting a new long distance. Needless to say, I backtracked and got back to the pathway. Legs still felt ok, Only you from Yaz came on which was a favourite during high school and I probably haven't listened to since then. I started belting out lyrics, and completely forgot that I just finished slogging through snow. Forever young by Alphaville kept me going even further. Before I knew it, I was at 12k. A-ha's Take on me came on - although I usually can run and ignore the beat of the music, I couldn't with this one. I looked at my watch and was running 6:15! Yikes Allie, slow it down! But I can't. I feel so good!!!! Needless to say, I finished the 14.5k, never felt like I was breathing heavily ever (sang out loud often, said hello to all the dog walkers enjoying the pathway today as well), legs felt surprisingly good, and actually felt like I could've ran further (but was smart and stopped!). When following the mantra of Slow and Steady, it really is hard to believe how quickly the lungs and legs can adjust to longer distances. If you're just starting or just finishing Ju ju's 10k plan or have just moved over here from the Couch to 5k forum, yes, it does get easier. And slow and steady really does makes it happen.
Happy Running everyone. And yes, everything that was weighing on my mind pre-run is no longer a big deal. I once again feel good about my HM in March.
Written by
SaskAlliecat
Graduate10
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Thanks Jan 😊. Neither song came up for me today but there are 67 songs (and growing as I remember more favourite songs of my youth!) in the playlist and it's on shuffle. It has definitely become my new favourite playlist so will be running regularly to it, especially with the long runs. It'll be a pleasant surprise when those songs do come on.
I'm very excited for the new clinic - it is over double in size and will be great to have more exam rooms and more dedicated space for certain tasks (instead of multi use rooms). I'm not looking forward to the actual moving day or the first few weeks after when nobody can find anything 😆. It'll be worth it in the end, I'm sure.
Fantastic post, and well done! That hill sounds perfect for hill repeats. It's obviously been a very trying time having to fit your runs in when life is throwing everything at you. But it's great when it all comes together. HM, watch out 👀, there's a very determined runner about! 😎😃
Haha, thanks Sandy. It is the perfect hill and it's calling me 😂. I can't wait! I'll need to wait until the pathways are clear though. The 2 hills in my Trail Race this fall are also going to get back stitched when we head back out to the lake this summer (once tick season dies off 😖). I really want to be able to run both of them in my race this year and I think that'll be a great way to build up my leg strength! The first hill is a goat trail with 200 runners so will likely still end up walking part of it, but the second is a wider path that's part of the hiking trail so you never know 🤞
A goat trail sounds almost vertical 😨. Isn't that more like mountain climbing than running? Being eaten alive deosn't sound like fun either! You're a tough cookie SaskAlliecat!! 💪
It is pretty much vertical. It is crazy but oh so fun.
The ticks are bad from May to June but start dying off in summer. Unfortunately there are still some kicking around until late summer. It makes me run super fast, cursing like a sailor when I find one on me. It is why I wear long white socks (basketball socks 😆) on these runs so I can see the little buggers. We're fortunate they're not the species that carry Lyme disease.
Wow! Well done, great post. Sounds like you have a really hectic life, trying to squeeze it all in. I can only aspire to a run like yours at some point - maybe - in my distant running future! Have a feeling you are going to do just great on your HM
Thanks fishypieface. My life can definitely be chaotic at times but running has really helped with my stress management and mental health. I'm so glad I went for my run today, it changed my outlook on the rest of the day.
If longer runs are something you decide you want to do at some point, I know you'll be able to. My struggle lately is just finding the time to get those long runs in (they start to get a bit more time consuming). You've been doing well on the 10k plan so far. Glad to see you're off the IC and got your 8k done.
Stress, being capable, coping with life, running does make such a difference to dealing with all that, I'm pleasantly surprised how much. Funny we don't set out with that goal in mind, but it's a very welcome side effect. Longer runs are a different field to shorter runs, I see that now. Something I hope I can gently work towards. Once you start c25k you just want to carry on going! Good luck with your training
He had a pretty quiet day today but seems to be on the mend. So far neither hubby nor I seem to be coming down with it. I'm wondering if the bag of stale marshmallows he ate yesterday may've been the culprit 🤦♀️
Well done Sask! Good for you for going out there when you were not 100% sure. It paid off in spades! Sounds like this run did everything it was supposed to and more. Thats a nice playlist too Hope your little guy is doing better today also. We are expecting some milder temps tomorrow with some new snow so I have pushed my longer run till then. Not sure how long it will be just yet...
It sure did! It's so therapeutic especially when I can do this out and back route. I don't have to think about where to run. Although on the next longer one, I'll have to venture into the adjacent neighbourhoods to add more distance or just go out and back and out for shorter and back again.
The playlist was a great step back in time - I felt like a teenager again (😳 Don't know if that is good or bad). It's amazing how a song will take you back to a certain place though. I was a brainiac jock who hung out with the party group so my musical tastes and memories are quite varied 😄) It gave me lots to think about, that's for sure. The playlist is very long and growing so every run will be different. can't wait.
Hope your run goes well. We've gone from below normal temps to above normal temps. It keeps us on our toes, if nothing else. I hope we get some more snow soon, but it doesn't seem to be in our forecast. Have you started your new HM plan yet?
Yes, its nice to have a simple route. One less thing to think about. :).
That playlist certainly brought back some high-school memories. I was a bit of a fringe-dweller, so my tastes were varied too.
Thanks, yes its going from -18 to +1 tomorrow! Woohoo!! I have started the new HM plan, so its been back to 5s and 7s this week, but I’m throwing in longer runs here and there so I don’t feel like I’m losing too much of my progress 🙂 Thats what I’m telling myself anyway.
It is hard to imagine 12k or 14k not being a big deal. I am still struggling with 5 although it is not as hard as it was. This is encouraging. Thanks for posting, good job!!
I know, I'm still amazed myself. My next run might not feel like that, but hopefully it continues. I'm enjoying this slow and steady training. Once my HM is done, it'll be all about doing some intervals and hills to change things up, which will be fun as well.
Oh yes, another favourite. I was trying to stick to slower paced songs on this playlist to *try* and keep my pace slower. That one will get me going! I think I'll need to make another 70's/80's playlist with upbeat songs for my shorter runs.
I'm sure you will. I understand the nerves though. Who would've though we'd be reaching for these distances. It wasn't that long ago we were reaching for 10k and smashing it 😁.
I too am surprised by how our endurance increases (and how quickly we grow accustomed to this). I've also discovered that once I reach about 7km I enter into a whole different zone in which I run with robolegs and, even if it is just for a little while, it feels entirely effortless and is really exhilarating. It's very unusual for me to feel that earlier in a run, even a good one. This is one reason I am keen to build up the distance as I think mid to longer runs suit me best.
You are brave to take on the goat trail, especially with the spectre of ticks lurking! I hate the little beasts.
Glad your son is on the mend and hope it was due to the expired marshmallows (!) and not something contagious. Illnesses with vomiting are the absolute worst.
I also find I'm better suited for mid and longer runs as well. I get robolegs usually somewhere around the 5k mark, so I've actually come to not like the 5k runs as much (I hate stopping when I'm just getting into my groove). Unfortunately we're in a deep freeze again with temperature highs in the mid to high -20's (without wind chill) so I'm back on the treadmill. There is no finding my happy place and no robolegs when I'm on there ☹️. There is supposed to be very little wind tomorrow so I'm tempting to try to run outside tomorrow at -26 but i wanted to run 12k. Ugh, what to do.
I despise ticks and when I was training for the trail race last year in late summer with a friend of mine that I haven't really ran with before, I found one crawling up my long white sock. She was leading the way and all of a sudden I come flying up her backside dropping f-bomb after f-bomb. She didn't know why I was swearing at her and screaming at her to f@#king run faster 😳 until we hit the road. She had no clue I hated ticks so much. We laughed about it and ran the rest of the run on the road back to the parking lot. I love trail running but not the ticks.
My son was quiet the next day but has been fine and no one else got sick. Pretty sure it was the marshmallows. If only the would turn him off of them, but no. I'm sure he would do it again if given the opportunity.
Enjoy your training for your HM. The hardest part I have found so far (other than the darn weather) is finding the time for the long runs. It can eat up an entire morning. I have to eat pre run, so by the time I've let my breakfast digest, go for my run, drive home, stretch, eat again and shower, it's usually late morning. It just requires some planning.
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