Monday, March 22, 2010

Week 9 Day 2

Goosebumps!  The forecast called for rain ALL day.  At around noon, I decided that I'd just walk on the treadmill tonight and do the remaining C25K runs later in the week.  After thinking this for hours, the rain rained itself out!  I got home about 45 minutes until sundown.  By the time I got runner'd up (for some reason this always involves a two-flusher), and made it to the track, it was 20 minutes until sundown.


The first mile and a half was pretty standard, I did it in under 18 minutes. (It was too dark to make out the seconds on my watch.)  My lower legs were feeling fatigued, mainly the ankles and calves.  I plodded along, determined to grit out my thirty minutes and call it a night.  My breathing was fine tonight, very relaxed and even - 3 steps in, 3 steps out.  I kept asking myself why my breathing was becoming so easy and my legs weren't also having it easy.  I think they got stuck in a rut.

I'm not sure if I sped up first, or if I got happy first.  But, somewhere in the half lap before 2.5 miles, I literally got goosebumps.  My legs became distant thuds in the background, of no concern whatsoever.  I stopped looking at the track, and instead watched the darkened scenery swivel around as I went through the turns.  I was going faster and feeling better because of it.

I was overcome with the certainty that 3.1 miles was gonna be easy.

When I hit three miles and began the turn, I started really pouring it on.  Before I was even done with the turn I was hauling ... running ... sprinting.  My arms were pumping like a madman-operated marionette.


Sometimes I don't speed up at the end, and when I do it's getting back to a respectable jogging pace. But this time, I was running as fast as I could bloody go!  This run didn't start out that great, but it was a favorite well before it was completed.  This is the second time I've had this feeling, the first was Week 7 Day 2.

This was the first time I'd ever gone 3.1 miles without walking - ever, as in my entire life!  I found the light button on my watch and my time was 36:22.  This averages out to 5.1 mph, which for me is good!

6 comments:

  1. Great job!!! I hope to get to that point someday... :)

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  2. Almost there! :)

    Great work, and an amazing job documenting your character leveling up :)

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  3. Congrats!

    I just finished Week 3 Day 1 yesterday and noticed for most of the day I was fighting my body's urge to run more. The run itself wasn't so hot (first time running that long) but it was weird how it made me feel the rest of the day.

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  4. Congrats, Dave! That run sounds like it was amazing. Have you figured out what your running and blogging plans are once you finish this week?

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  5. Dave - that feeling is the elusive "runner's high!" Mazel Tov! :-)

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  6. Thanks everyone!!

    I am currently determining the requirements for higher athletic character levels. Whatever goals I establish, I will continue to post them in melodramatic fashion.

    And, if I can score a runner's high once every six runs ... yep, I'm a gonna keep on running!

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