Changing things up
I’ve been running in the afternoons this week just to see how I liked it. I have to be honest, while it’s nice to be out in the daylight, I don’t really think I’m ready to convert just yet. In another month it won’t matter, it’ll be dark after work, so that’s one of the benefits eclipsed, and there will be more traffic, which is a strike against running while the rest of the world is awake as far as I’m concerned. Add to that the fact that I’ve felt pretty sluggish in the mornings all week and that I fully expect to be working pretty much around the clock 7 days a week until the elections come and go, I don’t see any positive in messing with my routine just yet.
If I make it a priority first thing in the morning it will get done, simple as that. If I put it off until after work, there’s the danger that I’ll be too tired or moody to force myself out the door.
Today was 3.61 miles at a 7:26 per mile pace. That doesn’t sound too bad, right? Well, it kinda sucked. I caught a cramp in the second mile that just wouldn’t go away so the last mile and a half was rough. I know adversity is good, it teaches you to work through the difficult times, but man, that stitch came out of nowhere. I know that’s just part of it, but it’s days like today that make me question if I really have what it takes to be a runner again. I finished the run, but it slowed me down pretty severely.
On a somewhat related note, I’ve started tracking my splits, which while not completely scientific given the fluctuation in terrain I deal with over the miles, the trend hasn’t really been what I’d call desirable. For instance today it broke down like this:
Mile 1 – 7:08
Mile 2 – 7:25 (14:34)
Mile 3 – 7:40 (22:14)
Final .61 – 4:32 (26:47)
I’d like to see those numbers either going down, or at least staying closer together. This tells me I haven’t really found my pace yet. Some of the discrepancy today can be attributed to the cramp, and other days I’ve attributed it to the change in elevation of certain miles along a route, but all-in-all I’d really like to see them closer together.
I’d love to run the half marathon in November with a few negative splits thrown in. I guess we’ll see.