Sunday, April 27, 2014

Exercise Diary: Can still feel it

If my Friday's big leap forward was any indication that my running has reached any breakthrough, well it wasn't.

I must've not stretched well enough, because after waking up this morning I can still feel my thighs screaming at me.  It's been two days!  And to make matters more difficult, my back muscles are aching too.  I was volunteering at our local animal humane society, and part of what I did was moving ~20 bags of 40lb wood pellets.  I only had to move them one by one from the floor onto a shelf about 5 feet away, and at the time it didn't seem like a big deal, but I can really feel it now.  My arms hurt a little too but I barely notice that.

Another thing I noticed after waking up this morning: it wasn't raining!  It was freezing, but it was dry.  So my first thought was that I could squeeze some running in.  I had planned to run outside.  I was even going through all the routes in my head and choosing mentally what I could wear that would fend away the cold but wouldn't boil me after running a while.  In the end I decided that a big loop that would drain me as I get to the middle of nowhere would not be a good idea, and I settled on the outdoor track around our football field, with a backup plan of treadmill running.

I was poorly dressed.  It was freezing!  The forecast said mid-40s but I didn't factor in the wind so even as I was walking toward the gym (5 mins away), I abandoned the idea of running in this weather.  Besides, it seemed that they were setting up for a game of sorts.

So I ended up doing 1.7 miles on the treadmill.  Pathetic, I know.  I was happy, however, that when I first got in there it was warm and toasty.  I was behind on laundry so I wore my back-up sports bra, which I now detest because not only my boobs were bouncing way too much it also didn't absorb all the sweat, so by the end my shirt was soaked and I felt disgusting.  I don't know what it was made of but my trusty go-to bra was made of nylon, which I think is the preferred material for running gears, and let me tell you, it makes a world of difference.

One thing that really puzzles me is why I spend the day just bursting with desire to run, and when I was running, just couldn't wait to stop.  I got tired easily, my endurance doesn't seem to be improving, I have no self-motivation to keep running, and I just constantly have this overwhelming desire to stop.  I kept telling myself that my first 5K is in a week, and that I really need to keep running to get to the end.  But I just couldn't.  I tried running at a slower speed, didn't seem to help.

The only thing I could think of is that I'm not mentally prepared to run a good distance.  My thighs didn't hurt while running, by the way, so it wasn't like I was suffering though my bodily aches.  I still need to work on my new shoes, they are not giving me shin splints anymore but I don't feel comfortable in them and they do still stain my feet to a degree.

But my point is, I no longer have a goal set before I start to run, and therefore have nothing to motivate me.  Especially when you are on a treadmill, where things can be a lot more boring than running outside.  I no longer have a time goal; I figured that I would always cheat by walking the whole time.  I don't have a distance goal, since I was never sure how far I could get (especially today).  I don't have a pace goal, thinking that I would never adhere to it.  I just get on the treadmill, start running, and stop just as easily.

I've always believed in making plans, and I've always accepted the fact that things would almost never go as planned.  In fact, that's what I enjoy most about life; having things not go as planned, because they invariably always turn out to be better.  But you've always got to have a plan.  And now I don't have plans when I go running.  As a result, I get tired, and I'm disappointed after my runs.  Things need to change, or I may just stop running altogether.

It's going to be nice out tomorrow so I think I will run around the pond again.  I really hate the roads around the pond.  We always run on the edge because the road is narrow and we have to share it with the cars, but the edge is curved so it's uneven on the feet, and broken so you constantly step on gravel.  But for next weekend's 5K a good majority of the race is running an extended loop around the pond, so I figured that it would be good to get used to the route.  Besides, the extended loop is more like 1.5 miles so I figured a good 2 loops should be enough exercise.  I think my goal for tomorrow is to run the whole thing without stopping, no matter how slow I get.  Let's see how that goes.

On a lighter note, I impulsively bought a hydration backpack from ebay.
It looks like this.

It's a Coleman Max 2L hydration bladder lightweight camping/hiking backpack.  Obviously I don't need this right now because my runs are short and I stick to the roads.  But I sometimes hike in the summer and I thought maybe someday I will be able to do long runs and may need this (someday, way in the distant future).  

But honestly, the main, main reason I got this is because it is only $20!  It was originally sold for almost $90, so I thought, this is a bargain that wouldn't come by again in a long time.  And it's perfect for me because the other hydration vests I've seen so far, besides being ridiculously expensive, also have tiny compartments that you can only fit your essential keys and things and maybe a GU or two.  But this looks like it can fit a light jacket so when I go hiking it would be perfect.  It's still an impulsively buy though, I'm ashamed of myself, and at the same time thrilled by the bargain.  I also bought it when I was having one of those afternoon when shopping is the only therapy that works~~.  

No comments:

Post a Comment