Well, I haven't been here in a couple days.. Here's a break down…




Sunday- I took a day off. I only had wednesday and sunday off last week. I ran a lot. 23 miles to be exact. I ran over the goal that I had made for myself that week (22 miles), which made me extremely proud. On Saturday I ran a few errands with my mom and I bought some new running shoes. I got the Adidas Kanadia T 3 Trail running shoes. They are amazing. They feel like walking on pillows compared to what I was running in.



Monday- I went for my run. I set out at my normal pace and by the second mile was really feeling the burn in my lower calf muscles. I don't know if it was from running in the new shoes, or that the day off actually made me a little stiff. I still should have walked or done something, I suppose. I pulled through however and felt great during the last two miles of my run. I don't have times for these runs as I'm just focusing on being able to run without stopping, and when I focus on the times, I think I do a little worse or I get upset for not doing what my goal was. I did run the entire 4.5 miles without stopping. I felt great.



Tuesday (Last night) - I had a lot of energy when I got to the canal last night. I really wanted to push myself the first mile and see if I could get a better time that I had been doing. I think I've been averaging about 11-11:30 for the first mile..maybe an occasional 10:30 but that's still pretty slow. So off I went..my feet moving at such a quick (for me!) pace that it felt like I was sprinting, even though I was not. I started the mile at 6:34. I kept my eye on the watch. I know where the first mile marker is and if I don't push a little harder I know I'm not going to break 10 minutes, so I push faster and faster until I know that I'm going to have to stop running when I reach the mile marker. I got to the mile marker at 6:43. I did it! I did the first mile in 9 minutes! I couldn't believe it. I stopped running but kept walking and walked for a little under half of my 2nd mile. At that point I picked my feet up and made myself jog. I jogged to the end of my second mile marker and the first half of the 3rd mile. I knew that I wanted to push myself on the last mile too, so I allowed myself to power walk the last half of the 3rd mile. Oh the 4th mile.. I knew this was going to be extremely rough. As soon as I started running I was already winded, and my calfs were burning but I MADE myself do this. I pushed and pushed until I thought I could be sick. Looking at my watch I knew I was NOT going to make it in under 10 minutes, but still I pushed harder and harder. It's funny.. the faster you run the more appraising looks you get from people passing by. They are probably just thinking "That girl is nuts" When I reached the end of the 4th mile, I was just 27 seconds past 10 minutes. I give myself a lot of credit for this though. I pushed when I didn't want too and got a really good ending time on this mile.



The most important thing about last nights run is that I CAN run faster if I really try. I know now that It's going to make me more tired, and more out of breath, but I CAN do it. I don't want to get too comfortable at a 11:00mm pace. I need to strive to make myself better, and faster!



The rest of this week will be a little tricky as I'm leaving for vacation on Friday and have a lot to do the next couple evenings. I'll hopefully get atleast one more run in until Saturday/sunday timeframe. Wish me luck!