Second Thoughts...

Maybe I was wrong. I think the treadmill did me good.

I went running this morning. I didn't feel like waking up all that early for the Run the Woodlands 5k (sorry guys), but I decided to do 2 or 3 laps around Rice. I woke up, brushed my teeth, got dressed and left without eating breakfast or consuming anything but a bit of water.

Yesterday, by the way, due to stress and my inherent inability to deal with it in a healthy way, I ate crap. Pizza. M&Ms (don't judge, this was a bad week). A couple hot wings. My hydration wasn't that great either.

I wasn't expecting a good run at all. I expected a bad one, actually.

I got to Rice and started out really strong. Stronger than normal. Stronger than normal yet I felt good. After a while, I decided to change my outlook on the run. Usually my runs are leisurely, but I decided to make this one a workout run. After all, I kept a good pace on the treadmill and didn't die. So I ran. And ran. And ran. I thought a lot about that treadmill and my abilities on it.

Even with my walk breaks (4 minutes running to 1 minute walking), I finished my first lap in 37 minutes! I started slowing towards the end, so I figured I'd do it in 39. I was super ecstatic when I saw 37 minutes. I haven't done 37 minutes around Rice in almost a year!!!

After the first lap, I stopped to catch my breath. I pondered: should this next lap be a leisure lap or a workout lap? Well, hell, let's make it a workout lap! Since it's my second, I'll be ok with taking an extra minute or 2.

I started lap number 2. I felt strong (albeit a bit tired), but towards the end I was really tired. I started on my leisurely pace and then dwindled to a sub-leisurely pace. I was also hungry (and a Gu would've been great at that time), and I'm sure my blood sugar was nonexistant. As I approached the start, I refused to look at my time. I was thinking it was easly 39, maybe 40 (simply because of how slow I got towards the end).

Nope! Imagine my surprise when I saw 36:30!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I kicked ass on the second lap!! Imagine what my time would've been had I not gotten so tired in the last mile. I achieved negative splits and the 36:30 is the fastest lap I've done in a year.

I quit at that time. Why hurt myself before next Sunday?

So... here's my stats:

Distance: 5.8 miles.
Time: 1:13:37
Speed: 12.7/mph (just 2 months ago it was 14/mph)
Weather: eh. Not hot, not cold. Not as cool as I'd like but also not humid.
Hydration: Not that great. Maybe only 1 liter (at most) yesterday
Nutrition: Crap.
Boredom level: low
People I knew: none
Comments about my breasts: none
Joggers I passed: 1 (which almost never happens)

Yes, I will be using the treadmill at least once a week now. Maybe that can be my speed workout.


Total weight loss, by the way: same. 6 pounds. Sigh. This is another reason I'm going to start running harder.

Time to shower and start my grading (which will take longer than it takes me to run a full marathon).

Cheers!