run no. 1: last saturday i ran 12 miles. it was a pretty awful run. it was a warm, muggy southern morning and i had 0.00 energy for the run. the trail i ran was a relatively flat (small, rolling hills) out and back.
run no. 2: this past saturday i ran 10 miles. it was a pretty amazing run. it was a cool southern morning and i had lots of energy for the run. the trail was full of hills, hills, hills. i loved every second of it.
so riddle me this: how is it that i ran the 10 miles almost 35 minutes faster than my 12 miles? especially given the serious climbing the 10 mile run demanded?
it just goes to show that many, many factors go in to a good run, or more importantly a good race. in preparing to run the salt lake half this saturday, i am trying to control a lot of those factors. 1) sleep, sleep, sleep 2) drink water, water, and more water 3) eat well 4) be prepared with everything i need and keep it a low-stress week.
unfortunately a lot of factors can't be controlled. weather, porta-potty issues, a stressful day at work the week before the race, travel - just to name a few. the most important thing for me to remember is that i can control my mind and my attitude regardless of the uncontrollable factors. i just need to tell myself (power of the mind) that i am going to rock this race. and maybe i just will. maybe that was the key for run no. 2 - i'll just channel that for saturday! ;)
good luck to everyone running the sl marathon this weekend. molly, i hope your race went well on saturday. i'd love to hear about all of them.
Julia- we need to get together while you are here in SLC.
ReplyDeleteIt's so true, Julia. Running can be so unpredictable. 3 weeks ago I ran 12 miles in 1:51. This last Saturday it took me about 2:06. But the difference between me and you is that you have some serious mental will power. You're going to ROCK Salt Lake! Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteMy demon last Saturday was the sun! I ran later in the day than usual and it was actually super hot (80s). I about died. My head hurt the rest of the day and the run was horrible. No more late Saturday morning runs! It's just not a good time for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks also for the nutrition post - that was so great to read. I have a harder time with salt than sugar - i always want salty snacks (and want to wash them down with a diet coke)! Since I'm new to running, it's been interesting to see how my diet affects my run. I love it but my will power has plenty of room for growth!