Training Update!

Training for the 1/2 marathon in October was enjoyable. I trained outside, and rarely stepped on the treadmill. Unfortunately, training for Maui has not been quite as enjoyable. I get so bored on the treadmill that I start playing mindgames with myself. I have been meeting a friend at the gym which helps, because I can't really quit when we have already decided what we were going to run. That just wouldn't be fair. I also started by 16 week full marathon training plan last week. My long runs are Sundays. I was hoping it would be in the 30s so I could run outside, but it was not. In fact it was so cold that the water froze to the side of my water bottle when I was out for only a minute. So, off to the gym I went. I was prepared though, I looked through the guide to find out when there was something on TV that I could watch for the next 2 hours. If I did 6.0 pace, it would take 1 hour and 40 minutes. Kinda depressing, huh?

I settled on 5:00, because there was a special about a previous Biggest Loser winner, Eric, who had gained back nearly 200 pounds. I was intrigued, and thought that it would be a good motivator. Actually, the better motivator was the guy on the treadmill next to me. He was running pretty fast when I got on. Shortly thereafter his treadmill shut down and he got off. I know that the treadmills shut down after an hour, so he must have been running for an hour. About 3 minutes later, he was back on the same treadmill, still running just as fast, and he did another solid hour! WOW! So, I set the treadmill to 6.4 miles per hour and off I went. Somewhere during the run, I felt that I was a little slow and upped it to 6.5. At the end of the first hour, I had run 6.5 miles. I got off, went to the bathroom, and hopped back on again. I looked at it as only 3.5 more, just a little over a 5K. For the next 2 miles, I settled on 6.8 pace, a little faster, but I just wanted to be done. For the next mile, I upped it again to 7.0. About this time my knee started hurting. I had visions of my horrible knee pain pre-physical therapy. I said a little prayer, and told myself that I would finish all 10 miles. (I also knew at this point, that my marathon buddy, Beth, had already done her 10 probably on this very same treadmill, earlier in the day. My competitive spirit wouldn't let me quit!) So for the last 1/2 mile, I upped the speed again to 7.5, pretty fast for me! I finished all 10 miles, and felt pretty good about it too! My knee is a little sore today, so I think tonight will be an elliptical night!

Did I mention that I leave for Maui in 11 days, and run the 1/2 in 13 days!