Run Twenty-Three: Pushing Myself

Back on the treadmill. But I pushed myself
harder than I have been. 

The weather was grey and wet and intermittently rainy today and we had a vaguely irksome day running errands (we should not have had to go to three grocery stores looking for a basic, simple condiment). Anyway, I just didn't want to deal with running in the real world and real weather, so I went back to the gym to run on the treadmill.

However, I went back to the treadmill armed with the knowledge I gained running in the real world last Monday and Wednesday -- which is that I can do a lot more than I think I can. (Yes, I know I've learned this lesson multiple times in the last eight weeks. I'll probably have to learn it again because it's so unexpected.)

My planned goal for the run was to run all 28 minutes, with as much as possible at 3.5 miles per hour. After running outside last week and beating my best treadmill distance without even running the whole time, that seemed like maybe an easier goal than I wanted it to be. So I decided to push myself and see if I could do better than that..

First, I confess that I didn't run all 28 minutes. I took two one-minute walk breaks (one at about 10 minutes and one at about 22). I didn't really slow down much but I did rest my legs just a little. So I guess that was a bit of a fail.

On the other hand, I ran the first six minutes and the last minute at 3.7 mph, I ran eleven minutes at 3.5 mph, and I ran the remaining ten minutes at 3.3 (except the two minutes when I was walking at about that speed). Which is a lot more at a much higher speed than my last trip on the treadmill.

That is why I made my best distance today by more than a tenth of a mile. :D

I'm considering officially that I made my goal, darn it, because even though I did stop running for a couple of minutes, I didn't actually go any slower when I did.

I can totally feel it now, a few hours after getting home -- my hamstrings are all pingy and twingy. It's kind of cool (but also a bit uncomfortable). On the up-side, my lungs are fine -- no exercise-induced asthma at all. :D

Next run is scheduled for Monday. The program is 28 minutes of running. I'm not sure what the weather's supposed to be like -- if it's nice I'll be outside; if not, I'll be on the treadmill. Goal for the run, if I'm outside: Run as much as possible and try to get to the 2.1 miles I did today. Goal for the run, if I'm on the treadmill: No walk breaks, more at 3.7 miles per hour, more at 3.5 miles per hour.