Oh Everest, My Everest

I was excited all day to go on my first rainy run after work since it was raining all of yesterday and most of today... of course it decided to dry up AND get sunny just in time for me to put in my short, short run. Just like a typical short run for me, I felt like losing my lunch for the entire duration, then I hopped in the shower for 10 and completely forgot what I had just been doing. So, I guess I feel okay. It's almost like the run part didn't happen and I just felt like taking a second shower today, but then my sweaty running clothes remind me otherwise.



Today's run was informally timed, but I know I was in the neighborhood of a 12:10-12:15 pace maximum. And it was just shy of 2 miles. I hate it when that happens because 1.89 seems like sooo much less than 2. Then I feel like a loser for not just running that extra eleven-tenths of a mile, but it's not like I knew how far it was when I was out there! This is what happens when you just run wherever the hell you feel like it and then use gmaps to see how far you ran afterward. You have no idea what you've accomplished while you're out there, and more importantly, you have no idea what irrationally significant mile marker you could be crossing if you were just slightly less of a wuss.



I should really stop dwelling on that now. The important thing is that I am a loser because running fast is hard and I am le tired.



Just to shake things up a bit, I decided I would experiment with cadence today. I noticed that I consistently run at the same tempo (or at least within a very narrow range) that is pretty slow in the grand scheme of things. I just sort of lengthen my stride or pick up my knees to go faster when I need to, but otherwise I'm comfortable at this tempo. So I thought, what better idea than to try to do three loops around this giganto lawn at a much faster tempo than I'm used to, even if I really feel like I'm about to toss that apple I just ate? And so I did.



I was taking some weenie-ass little steps at some points along the way, but for the most part I tried not to be too much of a wuss. I experienced very uncomfortable and largely irregular breathing patterns and turned very, very red. I broke that sweat barrier that usually takes so long for me to reach pretty much immediately after I started. I even felt some sweat trickle down my neck, which is an entirely new sensation for this former couch potato. I focused all of my energy on maintaining that pace... and whatever was left of my focus was used to try to steady my breath. I did keep the pace, though shortening my steps on the uphill sections, but was never too successful with that breathing thing.



Of course, today was the shittiest of all the shitty shit shit days at work. (Don't get me wrong, there will be worse.. but today was pretty bad.) So, the fact that my heart was fluttering uncomfortably the whole time reminded me of the preceding nine hours of my day. It does that when I am running too fast and wanting to punch people in the face. You could say that it's my heart's thing.



I don't know what else to add. I mean, my chest and stomach feel like crap. My blood pressure has sort of been elevated all day because of uncomfortable conversations with my mom and about 5,000 angry people. I ate an apple RIGHT before I ran. I might as well have chewed it up and spit it out all over the front of my shirt. (Okay, that was gross. I'll stop.) My legs are kind of burning. My calves and quads were sore from the moment I started running and are only moreso now. I don't think I stretched adequately, but I'm not really in a calm mood. So, that explains most of it. I'm sure I'm still in pretty okay shape as far as my preparation for the 8-miler this week. I shortened my run today because I want to run 3 times mid-week instead of twice.



Unfortunately, I think the work will stay tense for at least the next three days. Most likely, it will last all summer because the next two busy weeks will melt right into when my colleague has decided to leave us for his new job. Then it will all be the big suck again. I guess I'd better get a handle on this stress thing so I can start enjoying the running again!

Labels: apple, cadence, gmaps, rain, short run