Holy Hills and Humidity

You know I was all revved up to go run yesterday; I had my mental muscle ready to fight my own negativity. I was ready to tell my self to shut-the-eff-up, I had running to do. Well, in all my insight I decided to run (dramatic pause) OUTSIDE (dramatic pause) because I wanted to prove my own progress. Running outside isn't really a big deal; I love to run outside. However, I chose to run outside for the first time since I had my wisdom teeth taken out (and my pain problem was/is a dry socket), in 100% humidity, in 88 degree weather, and through my exceptionally hilly neighborhood. There was a whole lot of genius happening when I made those plans.

So, the run was not as terrible as I make it sound, though I was not pleased with my time on my mile splits:

My overall time was 44:41 for 3.14 miles. That's not entirely accurate since I stopped to stretch and did not turn off the GPS--so my real time was like 42:00 or so.  I learned a few things about myself and running with this trip. First off, Running in the air conditioned Planet Fitness with a steady treadmill (even at an incline) is a lot easier that the heat and humidity and hills. However, I like running outside so I plan on mixing my treadmill and outside running.

I also learned that last year when I started running, I had little mental milestones that I hoped to hit (I hope I can run to the end of this street before I walk). I was "running a 14 minute mile and walking a 17 minute mile). Last night, I found myself hoping to hit the same length benchmarks in my intervals; however, I had trouble pacing myself. I found myself looking at my running ap and realizing I was running at a 9 min/mile. So those distances were reachable, but they were more challenging than I anticipated. My most consistent pace right now is between a 10:30 and 11 min/mile. I need to practice running outside more and get myself use to pacing what I know feels good. Obviously, I was pushing to fast and then not able to keep up the endurance to go beyond my little benchmarks.

I can say that I broke through some of my mental barrios using some of the techniques in Runner's World, but in all fairness I need a trip to Planet Fitness where I can pace myself more accurately and beat my own mental roadblocks that I have stopping me. I think on less humid days, I will do my running outside, it was a nice change. I also have some new baseline times to beat--you know me, I am all about competition with myself ;)

Until next time,
Working my way to fit,
Kati