I ran 10 miles today. I hated it. Then I loved it.
Let me 'splain...
I hated it because:
- It was cold. (But in all fairness I would have hated it if it was hot, too.)
- It was windy. And not just a little bit windy. And I swear to God, it didn't matter if I was running north, south, east, or west, I was running INTO the wind. How the hell does that work?
- My out-and-back was uphill both ways. Again with the defying physics!
- I was hungry. I got up and ate a Clif bar for breakfast at 7:00 with all intentions of heading right out to run. Well, I loafed around and didn't start until 10:00. I should have eaten a little something else before I left, but I didn't, and my stomach was growling by mile 2.
- The GU I
ate, took, sucked down (I never know what verb to use with GU-related activities!) at mile 5 gave me a hellacious stomach cramp. It lasted forever and forced me to walk 0.2 of a mile at mile 7. It finally went away.
I loved it because:
- It burned off the fistfuls of Reese's Pieces I ate at the movies last night. (We saw The Adjustment Bureau--great movie!)
- Even though I was for the most part ignoring my Garmin, despite the wind, and even including that short walk break, I finished with a pace faster than expected: 10:38 (stop laughing), a 10-mile training personal best.
- It showed me that if I get lucky and the stars align and I have good running conditions at my half next month, I just might really be able to pull off the time goal that I've had floating around in my head.
Labels: i hate running, I love running, PR