Monday - went running, in the rain, got soaked, felt terrible and wondered if this was really a good idea.
Today - went running, in the sunshine, felt much better, went to the pub, drank fizzy water, ate a burger - all's good with the world!
It wasn't the rain that was the deciding factor, I ran in the rain last week and felt ok. I ran further & faster today than yesterday. I was in a better mood yesterday before I started running that I was today. Maybe that was it, maybe I took my frustration out on my run today. Maybe I was just more determined to get on with it.
Anyway, today I had to run at 9.15 a mile pace for 3 miles. I don't have a fancy watch yet so I used my initiative. There is a loop on Pride Park that is exactly 1200m all the way round. Someone has also marked out 100m splits on this particular loop so you're able to work out 1600m (which is a mile). Armed with this knowledge & the stopwatch on my i-phone I figured that I could run at the prescribed pace.
I did a mile loop warm up jog, started the stopwatch and started running at what I thought would be slightly faster than usual. Mile ends, I'd ran 8.22. Slowed down a bit, carried on running, next mile 8.46, slowed down some more ran half a loop, got worried I was running too slowly, sped up, last mile 8.56.
Got home, decided I needed to buy a watch after all. Will obviously buy it from The Derby Runner. Rob recommended a Nike GPS. I will find out more about it tomorrow. It's great having a brother sometimes! Rob also told me that I averaged a pace of 8.42 per mile tonight, if I did that for every mile of the Great North Run I'd be able to finish in 1 hour 54 mins. That put a huge smile on my face - for a couple of minutes at least until I started to think of the other 10 miles. It's a possibility though.
I've noticed that running is one of those hobbies that sucks you in to buying accessories. Watches with GPS, special waterproof socks (amazing), lightweight waterproof jackets, matching vests & shorts. I've always been the kind of girl that dreamt of buying designer accessories from here - now I have to decide between Nike & Nicole Fahri!
Those waterproof socks sound fantastic, now I know about them I'll have to get some! The squelchy feel of soggy trainers is probably my least favourite thing about running.
ReplyDeleteI hope the watch helps with the training, I'd be lost without mine nagging at me on the speed runs.