Saturday morning Kev had to head down to Wilmington for a concert which left Cleo and I by ourselves for the day. I started with a 3.5ish mile run on the Greenway. Apparently there was some sort of bike festival in town and the bikers were EVERYWHERE.
In the hierarchy of trails, bikers are at the top of the food chain, then runners, then walkers, then people pushing strollers. That means that I can be ran over by bikers and I can shove a random kid out of my way when they dart in front of me. Circle of Life people. Circle of Life. It's all about who can stop the quickest.
So I went out for 3.5 miles and didn't wear my Garmin, just my HRM and it was so nice. I wasn't trying to speed my way through, just have a peaceful run.
Sunday I wanted to do 7 miles. It was kinda do or die if I wanted to run City of Oaks. If I can't do 7 miles right now, the half ain't happening. This time I strapped on my Garmin, ran from Whole Foods to the dog park and back. I love running to the dog park because it's all down hill, but I forgot about the whole running back thing.
At the half-way point
Considering 3.5 of those miles were all uphill, AND it's my first long run in forever, I was pretty happy with my pace.
So, my confession... I actually think this is a dirty little secret most/all runners do and don't talk about. When we stop, our Garmin's auto pause or we pause them. Yes, I absolutely ran 7 miles. I also stopped to potty and refill my water 2x at Kroger. I also had to wait a 2x for the light to change so I could cross the street.
When I started running I thought you had to run straight through, no stopping every time you went out. I actually started to get a complex and think that I wasn't in as good of shape or was mad if I stopped to pee because it messed with my time.
I read a lot of running blogs and from time to time people mention how they stopped to use the restroom or get water and I started to realize that not everyone was running consecutive miles and that the obligatory Garmin picture didn't represent every minute on the road. (best run on sentence ever!) In fact, I'm more likely to stop than to walk because walking does mess up my time.
Here's the thing. We all stop from time to time, no one talks about it and that's OK.
Other confessions:
I have what Kev calls a "yuck button". If something happens and I get annoyed, my yuck button is turned on and no matter how awesome that thing becomes, I won't like it. It happens in restaurants a lot if they mess up my food. Even if it comes out perfect, I won't eat it. Sometimes people turn on my yuck button too. (I know we're all a community, blah blah blah) but there's a pretty popular blogger I used to follow a few years ago and she just turned on my yuck button. Now I can't even read posts where she's mentioned.
I HATE it when the GPS tells me to go Northwest. I AM NOT A SEA CAPTAIN. Who the heck carries a compass today and knows where North is???
Last night Cleo was sitting on the couch next to Kev and I was on the other. I ate a cough drop, put the wrapper next to me, she jumped off his couch, ran over to mine, stole the paper, ate it and turned around so I couldn't reach her. It's not really a confession, but my dog is strange. I also took away a nail polish bottle and a silk flower she was chomping on last night.
This might go down as the most random post I've ever written and that's OK with me.
Do you ever stop while running???
You know I love my Wednesday link-up!!
WOOOHOO! Great job running, that's awesome! And you are totally correct, you don't have to run the whole time. Sometimes the stretch or the walk is needed to make a productive run!
ReplyDeleteI think it's amazing that you're so into running and can run long distances. Every time I read or see that someone has run a race or just runs an X number of times per week I'm pretty envious. I've never ever been good at running. lol
ReplyDeleteI was never a runner either! It took me a while to build up to those distances. I really think anyone can do it!
DeleteI totally have a yuck button!!! Sometimes there's just no coming back no matter how perfect and sparkly something might be. People don't understand that. Thanks for getting me.
ReplyDeletexoxo,
Meghan
Oh I do! Heaven forbid my yuck button goes on at a restaurant, It's all over after that.
DeleteI constantly stop ... I see people in races that take time to take pictures & laugh & talk to people.. I think those are the best attitudes :)
ReplyDeleteSame as having those races where you just go with your HRM & enjoy the road :)
I wish I could do that! I feel like I can't stop and if I did I would look at my time and calculate how much better I could/should be if I didn't stop.
DeleteGreat job on the running!! I didn't realize people stopped on long runs.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I started running in the first place but at some point I started thinking that I had to run non-stop and I get mad if I walk. Then again I have issues. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad other people have a yuck button, I thought it was just me!
ReplyDelete