A story of going from being a non-runner to planning for a marathon in three years...

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Easy as Reading a Book

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Well, that was a weird run. Weird-good, though. Not weird-bad.

Last night's schedule called for an easy 3 miles. Not a problem. There were some books I wanted to pick up at the library so I adjusted my route so that I would end at the library, pick up my books, and then have a nice long cool-down walk from the library back home.

I refused to look at my Garmin during my first mile. I was just puttering along at what felt like a nice, slow speed. I wasn't huffing and puffing. I wasn't thinking about how many miles I had left. My calves were kind of tight but other than noticing that I wasn't thinking about running at all.

Let me say that again: I wasn't thinking about running.

Normally when I'm out there running I can actually tell that I'm running. I'm actively thinking about it. But for some reason last night I was just in a zone. My legs felt totally disconnected from my body and I almost felt as though I was floating along. And when I did look at my watch when it beeped at the end of mile one, I was shocked to realize I'd just done it in 9 minutes and 45 seconds. And each mile just got a little bit faster without me even realizing it or even feeling as though I was going faster at all. Check it out:

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I have no idea what made last night so easy. The fact that I knew it was a short run so there was no trepidation about whether or not I could do it? That I had no time constraints? That I had a slightly new route planned? That I had an exciting goal at the end of my run (yes, picking up books at the library is exciting)? Who knows. All I know is that it was AWESOME. And that I want it to happen again.

Also, I love that I combined my running with "running" actual errands. I even ended up seeing Jason and Trinka Deu at the dog park on my walk home so I stopped to hang with them and watch Trinka Deu play with the other dogs for a bit. Maybe all my runs should end at the library!

Finally, here's an example of just what a Type A runner I am. I have a GPS-enabled watch (my Garmin). It could easily tell me when I've done 3 miles. But because I wanted to end exactly at the library, I used Gmap Pedometer to map out a 3 mile route starting near my house and ending at the library first. I'm such a nerd.

Speaking of nerdy-ness, here are the stats from the run:


Activity
Route:--Elev. Avg:624 ft
Location:Forest Park, ILElev. Gain:+3 ft
Date:06/10/09Up/Downhill: [+42/-39]
Time:06:35 PMDifficulty:1.9 / 5.0
 
Weather:Mostly Cloudy
 63 F temp; 60% humidity
 63 F heat index; winds NE 13
Performance

Distance: 3.07 miles
Time:0:29:35
Speed:6.2 mph
Pace:9' 38 /mi
Calories:334
Map
 
Elevation (ft)
 
Pace (min/mile)
 
Splits
MilePace (min/mile)Speed (mph)Elevation
Gain
actual+/- avgactual+/- avg
19' 36-0' 026.2+0.0+4 ft
29' 34-0' 046.3+0.00 ft
39' 34-0' 046.3+0.00 ft
end10' 38+1' 005.6-0.60 ft
Versus average of 9' 38 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

3 comments:

kristen said...

When you figure out why some runs are so effortless, let me know. I don't get it either. Good job.

Anonymous said...

God, I love that feeling. I miss that feeling. ;) My first three miles yesterday were about that speed and hurt like hell. Boo.

maria khoury said...

i love running my errands! walking back is a good idea...sometimes i run to target and back, and im pretty sure i look like i just robbed the store and am running away with my goods.

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