I ran 13 miles today for my long distance run of the week. I am racing in the Antigua Superyacht Challenge this weekend and I'm not sure I'll have time to run 13. The run was out and back around Willoughby Bay. I did my bike workout yesterday and my legs were hurting more than I thought they would. I started well but started having doubts around mile 4. I toyed with turning around at 5 miles and wrapping it up at 10 miles instead. I stopped and stretched at 5 and talked myself into another 1/2 mile before turning around. The sun was setting as well and I wanted to run the final miles around English Harbor. I ran well after the turnaround and felt pretty good through mile 10. I turned past the road to home and continued into the village for mile 11. My legs were screaming at me and I turned around before the clock hit 12. When I reached my house, my watch read 12.5 I gave myself the ol' are you really going to quit with 1/2 a mile left?! lecture and continued past my gate. I finished the 13. My legs are killing me but I feel good that I ran the whole way even with multiple points of doubts. My pace was 9:03 and I finished the run in just under 2 hours.
While I was running I started thinking about the fact that I now have this goal to run 30 miles and many of my daily decisions revolve around my training. The decisions that I make about waking up early, eating breakfast or not, having a beer after work, all of these now have to do with when and what I'm running or training that day. It's kind of nice to have something to base my week around. The training asks for only 3 days of running and I'm finding it strange to think about doing other forms of exercise.
I have always run as my primary exercise because it is easy to do when I am traveling. I only need my shoes. I don't need a gym or pool or a bike. I can do it pretty much anywhere. With the training schedule asking for 2-3 days of cross training I have to find time and the means to bike, row or swim. Swimming is taken care of, seeing as though I live on an island in the middle of the Caribbean, I just have to remember to pack my swim suit and goggles and go before or after work. Biking is possible at the gym here at the Yacht Club on an old stationary bike they have in the basement. Adjusting my thinking to include these other works outs is harder than I thought. As I settle into the routine it will get easier, it just feels funny right now on the days that I'm not supposed to run. My first instinct, the one that hates being told what to do, is to fight the training program. Don't tell me when I can and can't run! If I feel like running I'll go running! My second instinct is to go back to bed when I wake up early to run and realize it's a cross training day. I'm very good at convincing myself that I won't have time to do the workout, get home and shower and still get to work on time. This week I swam after work on Monday and biked in the gym on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to finding my rhythm with running and cross training. Next week I will definitely separate the bike from the long run so my legs are more fresh.
Right now I need to stretch some more, 13 miles is soo much more than 10!
While I was running I started thinking about the fact that I now have this goal to run 30 miles and many of my daily decisions revolve around my training. The decisions that I make about waking up early, eating breakfast or not, having a beer after work, all of these now have to do with when and what I'm running or training that day. It's kind of nice to have something to base my week around. The training asks for only 3 days of running and I'm finding it strange to think about doing other forms of exercise.
I have always run as my primary exercise because it is easy to do when I am traveling. I only need my shoes. I don't need a gym or pool or a bike. I can do it pretty much anywhere. With the training schedule asking for 2-3 days of cross training I have to find time and the means to bike, row or swim. Swimming is taken care of, seeing as though I live on an island in the middle of the Caribbean, I just have to remember to pack my swim suit and goggles and go before or after work. Biking is possible at the gym here at the Yacht Club on an old stationary bike they have in the basement. Adjusting my thinking to include these other works outs is harder than I thought. As I settle into the routine it will get easier, it just feels funny right now on the days that I'm not supposed to run. My first instinct, the one that hates being told what to do, is to fight the training program. Don't tell me when I can and can't run! If I feel like running I'll go running! My second instinct is to go back to bed when I wake up early to run and realize it's a cross training day. I'm very good at convincing myself that I won't have time to do the workout, get home and shower and still get to work on time. This week I swam after work on Monday and biked in the gym on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to finding my rhythm with running and cross training. Next week I will definitely separate the bike from the long run so my legs are more fresh.
Right now I need to stretch some more, 13 miles is soo much more than 10!
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