Days 25-29

Oh man...the 5k training is really kicking it up a notch now.  On Friday, Joe and I went for a hike on the Red Rocks Trading Post trail.  While most of the hike is scenic and lovely, the hilly parts of it really make it hard for me to breathe.  Thankfully, Joe is patient and will stop with me while I catch my breath every now and then.  I pretend we are only stopping to catch the breeze or look at the scenery, but let's be honest.  It's so I don't collapse and die in such a beautiful place.  (Maybe not a bad way to go....but not when I am only 32!)  The sun was super hot that day and so the hike was a little more grueling than other days.  All in all though, it was great and another reminder of why Red Rocks is my Happy-Inspiration Place these days.

Saturday was my Week 4 Day 3 5k training day.  I was not looking forward to it and I actually fretted about it all day and kept putting it off.  While the running portions were similar to the Day 2 training (3 min, 5 min, 5 min, 3 min), I just couldn't get my mind prepared for the run.  I ended up putting it off until 5:30pm, claiming I was doing so because of the hot sun and once I finally had my running shoes on, I sat on the couch for another 15 minutes trying to come up with excuses not to run.  I thought that maybe if I walked to the park with a magazine and sat and read for a bit, the inspiration would hit me and I would be up for it.  In the end, I yelled at myself to, "JUST GET UP AND DO IT!"   (Because in the end, I knew Julia and Ellie were doing it and they wouldn't take my lame excuses)  I told myself that if I couldn't make it through any of the intervals, I could just slow down and walk it out.  To make a long story short (too late) I got out and did it...all of it.  I didn't have to stop during any of my runs.  But I did feel like it was being tortured the whole time.  I would look at other runners who seemed to be moving with such ease and while they smiled at my, I glared at them.  I imagined people talking about me, saying, "I've never seen someone move so slow in my life!"  And I would project back at them, "I'M TRYING!"  I wasn't in a great mindset, to say the least.

When I returned home, mad about how gross I felt after the run, I texted Ellie and Julia and complained about how much I wasn't liking it...but I did it.  And Ellie said something that has really stuck with me.  She said, "I bet this is the point where a lot of people quit.  But we aren't those people!"  And Julia said, "We are fighters!"

So I took a couple days off (rested on Sunday and took a walk with Joe on Monday) and felt ready to move onto Week 5 Day 1 today.  Yesterday, while on my walk with Joe, I asked him to take a look at my run/jog and to tell me what he thought.  He said that I am looking good, just a little stiff.  He suggested I move my arms more.  My jogging intervals today were 5 min - 6 min - 5 min with 3 minute walks in between.  I took a new route and during my runs, I really tried to focus on swinging my arms.  And you know what?  I felt better!  I could tell I was moving a little faster and it felt better on my joints.  When I started to think too much about when the running interval would be over, I just said, "Move those arms!"  I did get some side stitches from moving faster, but in the end, I felt way better than before.  I went 1.82 miles at 3.3 mph, which is up from my average of 3.2 mph.

Many people have told me that all runners have good days and bad days.  I have obviously experienced both in my last two runs.  I just need to remember that the next time I have a bad day, that a good day is around the corner.  And right now, after a good day, I feel awesome!