Ending on a good note ...

Running the Numbers ~ Training Stats:

Training days to go: 83

Longest run to date: 9 miles

Mileage last week: 16.25 

Mileage this week thus far: 19.25

Total training mileage: 75

Workout Stats:

Location: Timberline and Drake to Horsetooth to Shields to Spring Creek Trail

Time of day: 9:15am

Time Running: 90 minutes

Planned Distance: 9 miles 

Actual Distance: 9 miles

Sticking to my program this week has been a bit of a roller coaster. Monday's run ("Legs of lead") was a sad excuse for what I had hoped to plug into my weekly training, but a run nonetheless. On Wednesday, I was stuck in my head and was struggling with getting out for the allotted 4 miles. With a quiet but necessary boost from my uncle, I gathered enough control and courage to push through the 4 miles on the treadmill, and even added another quarter mile to the total. On Friday, I actually felt an itching need to get in the repetitive motion of throwing one foot ahead of the other. As the onset of tendonitis in my right ankle threatened to throw a wrench in future training, I cut the run shorter than the originally planned 6 miles. I'm also finding that the stroller is a great tool for short runs, while long runs, where a steady and consistent stride is imperative, are not the best workouts to take the girls with. 

Finally, this morning, I was faced with 9 miles. Up to now, I've found a reason to skip out on the weekly long runs that have slowly led up to today's distance, so I knew I had to buckle down mentally for a jump from 6.5 miles up to 9 miles. This number is a tough one for me - almost double digits, but not yet there. Thus is "shouldn't" be hard until it hits 10 miles, but it is. 

I knew that the stroller would not do me good today - I would most definitely find a reason to procrastinate ... again. So I asked a friend to babysit at 9am this morning, creating a fool-proof way to schedule the run and stick to it. At 9:30, I stepped out that friend's front door and started slowly forward. 

Finding trouble mentally playing with a total running time of 90 minutes, I instead took each mile at a time. This wasn't too painful, considering I live in a town with a grid system, so I know where each mile starts and ends. As that started to push my mental focus, the only thing that kept me going was a nagging thought, "What would my girls think if I quit? What kind of example would I be setting?" 

When I hit the half way point, I needed a little break. As a little voice inside my head started to scream at me that this was just another form of quitting, my increasingly positive voice interrupted with the findings of a study that showed women who took walking breaks had higher cardiovascular fitness because they were able to pick back up running at slightly higher speeds after the short breaks. 

By the end of the run, I had taken three 5 minute walking breaks, but tacked those 15 minutes onto the end of the run. I finished the entire 90 minutes of running and am only slightly sore after pushing myself through the wall. 

I'm also thinking it's time to paint my toenails ... one is already purple and will most likely fall off within the upcoming weeks.