Monday, August 18, 2008

Double digits in the hiz-ouse!

I'm hella tired so this will be quick. I ran 10 miles on the treadmill last night...finishing up around 10 pm. I walked a bit, which I didn't anticipate doing, but I'm ok with it. My mom always calls on Sunday nights and I didn't want to miss her so I walked while we talked. I felt like I was going to ralph for a majority of the run, so I'm really surprised I mustered the will to finish. There were so many times I wanted to quit but all I kept thinking was how badly I needed to do this long run. I finally realized that I could spend all day coming up with excuses (and many times I have) but while I'm doing that I could be much more productive and just get the damn run over with. I downed some strawberry-banana Power Ade gel around the 6.5 mile mark and felt really good for about a mile and a half but then slowed down again. I was surprised at how "easy" the concept of going 10 miles was once I was over the 5 or 6 mile mark. I thought to myself, "Well you've done 8 miles before and that wasn't too bad. Surely you can do 21 more minutes or approximately 6 or 7 songs worth of running". And I did. Sure, my head was tingling (not sure what that was about) and my upper back was a bit stiff (anyone else have this problem? I think I might run like the Hunchback of Notre Dame or something), but dammit I did the 10 and am quite pleased. The worst part was showering later and feeling like I had a hundred tiny paper cuts on my legs - chafe much?!

Work is going really well. Everyone is super nice and I feel as if I've been there a lot longer than 3 days. It's very comfortable.
We've got company at the house right now so I've been unable to catch up on my blog reading b/c as soon as I get home from work (it's so nice to be able to say that again - finally) we're either preparing dinner or going out or running errands. I hope everyone's kicking ass with their running. I appreciate the support from you ladies about my last post. I think I'm going to print out the Hidgon schedule and enter my info into the Runner's World Smart Coach and see what kind of workout it generates for me. I really need to buckle down. Dur. I feel like I've been saying that for months. Anyway, g'night for now.

11 comments:

Rachel said...

GREAT JOB Jen!!! I'm so glad you hit the 10 mile mark! Can't wait to see those numbers go up!

Irish Cream said...

Great job on the 10, Jen (haha, I totally didn't mean to rhyme)!! But yeah, that's a HUGE step. Also, I'm so glad to hear that the new job is going well--that must be such a relief!! :)

Aron said...

AWESOME job!!!!! isnt it so exciting to hit double digits! keep it up!!!

julie said...

yay! way to go! but how the hell do you do it on a treadmill? i'd go crazy! i think you'll find running outdoors is far easier to keep at it with longer distances than the mind-numbing tm.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on hitting double digits!!!

MissAllycat said...

I'm am still in awe of your madd treadmill skillz. :)

YAY for double digits!

Emily said...

The 10 mile mark is a major milestone.

I anxiously await to hear about your next longest distance so keep at it!

Do it not only for yourself but for your adoring blogger fans. We like to hear you succeed.

Katie said...

Hey.

I'm brand new to running. Seriously like a new born baby. Anyway I love reading blog. You really inspire me. Keep up the great work.

Kate

EmLit said...

Congrats on the 10 miles!! Keep up the good work :)

As for upper back pain, this is pretty common--try to stay aware of relaxing your shoulders (which can creep up as you run longer distances and just get really tense). This should help. And as far as the chafing is concerned, I totally know that feeling. Ouch, it sucks. Do you use anything like bodyglide? I've found it really, really helps.

*jen* said...

Thanks guys! I appreciate the support and tips!! I feel like such a schmuck for getting so far behind in my blog reading but I'll be visiting you all soon. Hope all is well. :)

Kai said...

10 miles on the treadmill??? That takes some power endurance, I'm usually ready to kill myself after 6 on the hamster wheel. And I hear you on the stiff back - maybe some back exercises will help strengthen them?

"If you think you can, or think you can't, you're right."

~Henry Ford