Okay, this is really getting out of hand. I have to run 13.9 miles, then I don’t even get a break and have to run 4 the next day at a somewhat respectable speed, and then I have to run nearly 4 the day after that, at FULL SPEED?! Whose crazy idea was this????
The speed runs have been the ones that have given me the most grief so far, so I was really dreading this one. However, I was on somewhat of a time limit because I had to be back to the house and ready to go out with Jon and his parents by 9am, so I knew I didn’t have time to dally.
I biked to my office, got my gym clothes and walked over to the gym. I gave myself 3 songs to get up to speed, but only used two of them. I figured I had done the same mistake I always do – not give myself enough time for warm-up, but I guess that really wasn’t the case.
I started the mileage over and put it at 7 mph and then just concentrated on staying alive long enough to run out the 3.9 miles. I listened to the music, I tried to watch TV, I tried to watch people in the gym, I tried again to listen to music, it was very hard and I worried I wouldn’t make it, but the distance was clicking off fairly quickly.
Then, I also felt like going a little tiny bit faster from time to time, so I even bumped it up to 7.1, 7.2, and even 7.3 mph from time to time. That also gave me some leeway to ‘slow down’ to 7 mph from time to time when I got too tired.
I got half-way through with my mileage and didn’t like that I still had such a long way to go, but I reminded myself that my first few speed runs were like 1.7 miles or 1.9 miles and I didn’t actually make it for some of them and that the 2 1/2 miles I already had in today far exceeded my performance on those days.
I just tried to distract myself by watching the TV’s, listening to music, watching other people at the gym, or thinking about anything to keep my mind off the running. I did manage to complete the run, stretch, shower, and make it home almost on time to begin our touristy day with the in-laws.
Although I was sleepy much of the day, I kept up quite well and had a lovely time in Jerome, AZ.