I think form this point forward, whenever I post a running log I’m going to use the post title format I have for this post. It’s easier to use a date instead coming up with some sort of meaningful title. If I feel up to it, I might even go back and re-title the old entries in this category.
So, after doing “the run that wasn’t” last Thursday, I was somewhat eager to do this morning’s run. I even left Sharon’s house early yesterday just to make sure that I got enough sleep. Thing is, I woke up really groggy at 7:30 am this morning. I was feeling pretty rotten, and arguing with myself over whether or not I should head out. I was using my bad leg as an excuse to stay in. It was a very convincing argument. I mean, why not use another day to heal, right? Anyway, I got out of bed and tried a squat or two, as well as jumping up and down a few times. Thankfully, there really wasn’t any pain. So, that excuse was shot dead. I got dressed and headed to the living room to put my runners on. As I was doing so, my parents came downstairs. I was telling them how I was in no mood to go running. So, my father goes: “So don’t! I don’t know why you make yourself go through such hardship.” Heh. He doesn’t seem to understand why I do it. Hell, neither do I, really. Still, I knew that this was the perfect time to go. It’s in these times of “I can’t” or “I don’t want to” that you really need to make that extra push. And when you do, it’s all the more meaningful, know what I mean?
So, I arrived at the Running Room on time, and the store was crowded as usual. Even on a Sunday morning, the place is packed. I’ll be honest. Today, more than usual, I was feeling a little awkward and out of place. I dunno. There were all these people that I deemed to be true runners. Did I belong there? I kind of felt like I was just a poseur. I was very self-conscious of myself. Sure…I run, but I’m not yet a runner. Does that make sense? Of course, what does it say about myself that I’m willing to drag myself out of bed early on a Sunday morning to do something physically exhausting? I dunno. There are tons of contradictions.
ETA: Small correction on distance. On the streetcar today, was observing people on the sidewalk and realized I wasn’t that far back at all.
Anyway, only 5 of use from the Learn to Run class made it out. I told the run leader that I was still keeping an eye on my leg–which wasn’t a lie. I was still very concerned about it suddenly giving out for whatever reason. I was also extremely concerned about whether or not I could handle the current intervals. Because last Thursday was a bust, today had to be my testing day. We’re at 8 minutes intervals, with 1 minute walking breaks in between. Today was the last day at 8+1, with 10+1 starting tomorrow, so I had to do my best. There was no choice!
The route was different from the usual routes that the instructor (who was away) made us run. This time the route seemed to go through the park lands in Markham, and into Unionville. The first interval was alright, although, my legs felt like lead. I kept up with the pack, but by the next one, I was already falling behind. Once I found myself at a particular distance behind, I upped the effort just so that I wouldn’t get too far back. I’m bad at measuring distances visually, so I’ll say that I was…maybe 50-100m 10m back? I dunno. I was really trying hard. It was damn tough. Since there was no one around my, I was telling myself out loud, “push it!” I think it helped. When it came time to do the walking intervals, instead of stopping like the rest, I used that time to keep running and catch up to everyone.
During the run, we met a lot of people strolling through the parks. We greeted each one with a friendly “good morning!” They were all smiling. I thought that was interesting. We also ran into a lot of the other runners from RR who were heading in the opposite direction than we were. Wow, so that’s where the 5k’ers ran. Heh.
So, by the 3rd and 4th interval, I was really struggling. The hills around the trails were tough. I was close to walking through some of them. The leader came back and offered me water a few times. I politely refused even though I could have probably used it. I really need a water bottle belt or something. Water might be the big factor for me. Who knows. Close to the end, even though in the past intervals I was able to close the gap between myself and the others by adding effort, I just couldn’t do it anymore. I told myself forcefully “Push!” However, I just couldn’t. At the end of four, we were very close to the RR. We were talking and trying to decide whether we should run to the stop light to end the run. I emphatically said “no!” However, the others said we probably should. They were right, of course, but I was pretty dead. The pulled ahead and up the hills back to Hwy 7. I tried to keep up, but couldn’t. I kept a slow pace, but kept moving regardless. I made it to the stoplight maybe 30 seconds behind the rest of the group, so I wasn’t that far behind. When I made it, we were all smiles. All I could say was “holy hell!!!!” Holy hell, indeed: 35 minutes of running, 4.6km total.
Oh, I was feeling mixed emotions after that one. I was feeling a lot of pride, but I was tapped out–more than others, it seemed. Walking across the street back to the store, there was talk about how all of this was unthinkable back when we started. True! One of them was talking about how in the beginning when she was starting out her heart tended to beat like mad, but now it was more reasonable. I was tempted to tell her that I still tended to beat like mad, but…decided against it. Yeah, my heart rate still gets really high. I can’t help it. I honestly think it’s just because I’m heavy. Otherwise, I’m sure things would be more reasonable, you know? My HRM recorded that my average rate was 87% capacity, and I hit a max of 97% at some point. Is that healthy? I don’t think so. Regardless, I’m so very pleased with myself. Sure, I have a lot of room for improvement, but the fact that I’m doing what I’m doing is amazing for me. Maybe that’s why I like blogging about it so much, you know?
I guess I’m ignoring the fact that my legs didn’t hurt at all during the run. Sure, after the fact, my legs were tired and mildly sore, but that was a different type of discomfort. When I got home, I was feeling a bit woozy. I ate, showered, and got ready for church. Throughout the mass though, I was feeling sort of abnormal and unwell. My brain’s alarms were crying for something, but I didn’t know what. For most of today, I’ve been feeling a little off balance. I think all I need is rest.
After all that, I deserve a good rest.
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