Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Wk6/D2 - 7K + 2 Striders ... A Terrible But Eventful Run :(

7K @51:14
Pace 7:20/km

Oh.my.goodness! What a terrible terrible run today! But before I explain (vent?) in this post ...

1. I am officially registered for the Downtown 5K on Good Friday. This means a lot to me because I recall really wanting to run it last year, and feeling bummed that my running level was not up to par for participating in a 5K.

2. I uploaded my June-November 2011 running calendar on my home page (link under Page Tabs). I feel very good about the slow progression I am making currently, and how I plan to balance all my fun runs with my half marathon training. I also reconfigured my running goals so that they are better organized, and it was a good exercise for me to re-visit them. Some goals I made in 2010 were just not achievable at the time, but are within reach thsi year. :)

3. Hey, when all is said and done, today's terrible run had nothing to do with injury so that is a positive! Besides, it's over with and tomorrow is another day. :)

My 7K + 2 striders Run

First, it was supposed to be a 6.5K with 6 striders ...

It was one of those days when I just wasn't feeling it. I'm tired, I'm still grieving, Ben has left the country (me) for a week, and I am on auto-pilot. I sincerely wanted to skip my run, and I skipped going to the fitness club (I will go tomorrow). :( I justified this to myself by thinking that my run is A-1 priority so if I at least accomplished it, it was "okay" if I skipped the gym. After an excellent Week #5 of training runs, and after posting a running schedule for most of 2011 on my blog for all to see (uh-oh! witnesses!), it seemed a little silly to skip a run without legitimate reason. The Pollyanna voice inside of me reminded the skipper inside of me that most of my great runs have started out as procrastination runs so I needed to get myself out there and just go for it ...

Well, where is that Pollyanna now? Because I just want to smack her upside the head! First, there were police cruisers and fire trucks, police officers and firefighters all along the river between my path and the water. Regardless of where I ran, they were there. It was unnerving to see so many emergency workers, spread out along the water, looking and waiting. I doubt they would be out there the way they were unless something very terrible has happened to someone. :(

I also thought that it would be nice to run along the same path that this week's 10K race will be on, which is why I chose a different direction than usual. However, as I ran into Harris Park, where multiple emergency vehicles and officers were gathered, I was forced to come to a dead stop ... Harris Park is flooded, severely flooded, as in race organizers must be feeling very uptight at this time because wow! The path by the park was invisible under a river lake, and it was impossible for me to run around it so I could head toward Gibbons Park/UWO. I was forced to turn around and start thinking about how I could adjust my run. A second event to throw me off ...

However, when I returned along the path, we were suddenly accosted by a black poodle. Someone had their dog off leash, but unfortunately, this was not a dog who listened well to its master's commands. Suddenly, I had an attacking dog, an excited Wallace, and growling Angus, my protector, who jumped in-between me and the poodle ready to do battle. My water belt went flying, my water bottles went flying, and a few expletives went flying as well! It took me a few minutes to get myself and the dogs put back together so we could just leave and head on our way ... :(

By this time, I had only one set of striders accomplished and when I attempted my second set, my Garmin time was laughable. I knew right then and there - today was not the day to add striders. Just run my damn 6.5K so I can get this bloody run over with!!

For the rest of the run, I dealt with a fussy Wallace who kept trying to pull off to the side of path, compounding my grrrrrr feelings, and I literally had to stop three times to pick up water bottles that fell through my water belt. :( My fuel belt has officially kicked the bucket; I have scooped up dropped water bottles for the last few weeks now, but three times in a row in one run pretty much signals that the belt needs to be retired. :( Now I will need to use my Runner's Choice gift card to purchase a new one tomorrow, regretfully, because I was saving my gift card for a new pair of running shoes on sale. :( However, I use my water belt on every run, and with a 10K race this weekend, continuing to use my well-used two year old belt is going to be a source of frustration.

Did I mention that today was Tuneless Tuesday and I was running without any upbeat music to motivate me?!?!

And the extra .5 km? I ran it so I could get home sooner, not because I was motivated to make up for lost striders. :(

Anyway, I am home, I am showered, I am safe, and I have tomorrow's 10K. And to put this all into better perspective, my Garmin log reveals that exactly one year ago, I ran/walked 5.17K in 45:09, at a pace of 8:44/km. Given a choice between today's run and last year's, I'd take today's run. :) :)

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