42 degrees, raining, 6 miles, hills, hills, and more hills, 67:45. I got my beautiful pink shoes covered in mud when I sank ankle-deep in a washed out area. I look like a drowned rat, I smell like a wet dog, and I'm snotting like a rabid squirrel. Nice mental picture, huh?
On the one hand, I'm a little disappointed. I had to walk many of the uphills. I'm not exagerating when I say there's no level ground on this trail. I walked for my drink breaks. I got a horrible side stitch I had to walk through. And I was hoping to get closer to 10 minute miles.
On the other hand, I know it was a great run. The cold, the rain, the hills, and carrying supplies are all things I need to get used to. When I realized I wouldn't be able to reach my pace goal, I switched and decided to work on my form for hills. Everyone thinks running downhill is easy, but it's not. I have to work on not braking. And not braking means going faster which means you've got to turn those legs over faster. I also need to work on striking on the balls of my feet instead of my heels. I know how to do this from my high school days in track, but I don't know how to do it at a slower pace. I also finished my last mile at a 10 minute pace.
This was a good confidence builder for me. Figuring in all those walking breaks means I was actually running close to 10 minute pace the whole time. I know I can do the ATM at this pace if I can do these hills at this pace. 10K--here I come! I'm off to stretch, shower, and baby my knees and hips. Two days off! Yeah!
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1 comment:
Wow, you have made a lot of progress! Way to keep at it.
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