i've been feeling slow and sluggish for the past few weeks, and even though i've only been aiming for all easy runs, it's still been kind of depressing. at first i didn't mind the thought of no tempo runs, no speed work, no strained hr, but after a few weeks at an easy pace i am starting to feel fat and slow.
so today, i went for a run during my lunch break and decided i'd aim for my daniels'-prescribed easy pace of 8:39/mile. (which i just noticed is really supposed to be 8:49... "oops") i remembered the feeling i got on my last lunch run and ate a banana as a late-morning snack in hopes that i wouldn't get weak in the middle of my run again. well it worked pretty darn good as i sucked at maintaining my "8:39" goal pace. i experimented with my nike+ on "pace" mode and glanced down throughout the run to see 7:4x's and 7:5x's. oops again. i slowed down but still the slowest i ever saw was 8:30 on an uphill. not to mention, i didn't really want to slow down. my hr avg was only a few beats higher than it has been on all my recent easy runs (at 9:xx), and i'm not really sure why everything was just 100 times better today. i mean i've only been m&m free for 2 days now. i guess i was just overdue for a good run, and it sure felt better than all the other sludge-filled ones lately.
tomorrow i'm going to work on finding this 8:49-ish pace for my easy runs 'cause i know what jack daniels has in store for me in a few weeks and i'm pretty sure i'm going to want to savor the easy days then. for today, it was nice to know i hadn't become a complete blob just yet.
tuesday (2/10) lunch run: 6 miles, 49:31 (avg pace 8:15), avg hr 166
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
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Great job! Maybe the banana did it!
ReplyDeleteNice work! I HAVE to have a banana every morning. I even have a special banana holder for when I travel.
ReplyDeleteI love bananas! Maybe I should start keeping them in my pocket!?
ReplyDeleteTerrific! It's so great when everything comes together and you have that awesome run. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteYou're almost through your recovery. I think it's cool to throw caution to the wind every so often, just to make sure you've still got it. It's good for the soul. I'm sure the increased pace didn't set you back at all. It's not like you went out and did 800's. Great job. I can't wait to see how things go when you really get back into the swing of things.
ReplyDeleteAwesome job on the run! i'll have to look for magical bananas too!
ReplyDeleteYou are clearly FAR from a blob, you lean, mean, running machine! Glad to hear about a great run. I find bananas magical too. :p
ReplyDeleteSee, you are itching to go fast again. That's a good thing when you try to go slow and you look at your watch and you are doing 7-something. Did you ever say what your next marathon would be?
ReplyDeleteYou crack me up with how fast you are, and how you feel slow at a pace that would make me feel like I'm flying:) I love bananas!
ReplyDeleteawesome job!!!!! bananas are my running food too, i dont know what it is about them :)
ReplyDeleteAdding bananas to shopping list now . . .
ReplyDelete8:49 should never be described as "easy"!
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, I had my HM PR after a banana. Hmmm....
I always say: If I could only to eat one thing for the rest of my life it would be bananas with unsalted peanut or almond butter. HEAVENLY!
ReplyDeletehow i wish i could say that my easy pace is less than 9 minutes!! yay for you - i am glad you had a good run.
ReplyDeleteoh, and in case you don't get followup comments on my blog, i wanted to suggest to you - do you have an adult ed program near you that you could sign up for and take art classes? could you just buy yourself some art supplies to inspire you to start being an artist again?
this may sound weird, but get yourself some playdoh. something about the smell, and the molding with your hands, it'll awaken that creative side of you again. trust me!
Man, wish I liked bananas!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I will no longer be using WebMD ... they made it sound like either my foot was going to fall off or I had some weird spinal thing causing pain in my foot. Go figure!
I can't run at my Daniels' prescribed pace for easy runs either. It's a lot slower than yours, but I'm always about a minute and a half or two faster.
ReplyDeleteI KNEW I should have picked up those bananas I saw at the store last night!
ReplyDeleteM&M free for 2 days??? Hope you are surviving okay sweet pea!
@kevin - not sure what's next in the short term. nyc in november, but until then... no decisions yet. keeping my eye out for a half and full that fits with my schedule though.
ReplyDelete@terri - thanks for making sure i got your advice. i have some (minimal) stuff but i should pick up some more pencils. i've always kept a drawing book in my coffee table but haven't pulled it out in a year or so. gonna look into the classes for sure!
@katie - yeah webmd almost always tells me i'm having a heart attack... truly a great resource
@kim - i'm actually going on 5 days now, and still surviving! (and magically lost 3 lbs) it's a miracle!