I skipped a long run this past weekend because I was visiting family in Chippewa. I could have easily done it Saturday afternoon, or anytime on Sunday but just couldn't muster up the energy. I needed to do a 10 mile run, so it wasn't something I could just ignore. Monday rolls around I lifted some weights at lunch and then ran for 20 minutes after work. I planned on running at least 6 miles...but my vanity got in the way. I wanted to go tanning. I know, I know, don't lecture me. I flipping love tanning. It just feels SO good, nice and warm, especially on a winter day. Plus, I look better tan...so that's an obvious reason. Needless to say, after getting some color on my skin I didn't exactly want to jump back on the treadmill.
Then, yesterday during work I just wanted to run during lunch so I did 4 miles there (9:05 pace). I contemplated running again after work but didn't want to promise myself something that probably wouldn't happen. I got in the car, and turned on the new Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds cd (Live in Las Vegas- get it if you don't have it). Dancing Nancy did me in- I got pumped up and ended up driving to the gym instead of going home. I already had my gym clothes on from running at work so I just needed to jump on the treadmill.
May I digress to talk about the treadmill? I'm really sick of it. I logged a solid 60+ miles on it this month alone. The display screams at me, showing how slow I'm going. The time barely ticks away. At the gym, the one I use doesn't have a fan in it so it's stale air the entire run. I have to manually make it harder on myself- increasing the speed or adding a hill incline. My stride shortens because I'm afraid I'm going to fall off. I get shocked when I touch the front bar. It's been my running hell this winter, and I can't wait to hit the pavement. I'll gladly take a huge hill in the middle of my run right now over this.
Once on the treadmill, I took it at an easy pace- 9:30-9:40 for the most part. This is the first time I've done two runs like this in the same day, so I wasn't sure what to expect. My legs were tired, but it wasn't something I haven't felt before. I concentrated on staying strong, and pretending these were the last few miles of a race. I've raced the course I'm doing for the 1/2 marathon before, so it was easy for me to visualize the end of the race. The end pops up out of nowhere- you turn a corner and all of a sudden a crowd is watching, and the tape is there. That was my goal- just get to the corner. I'm working on keeping a steady pace on the treadmill because I get really bored with it, bump up the speed and try to get it over with. That's great for a speed workout, but not for the distance. I bumped it up with 2 miles to go, and cruised it home. I felt amazing afterwards--really tired but great. I did 10 miles on a Tuesday!
