I ran in my hometown (Millersburg) with my brother. We ran down by the river, out Shippy Dam Road, past a couple Amish farms, and then back into town. It was was sunny and SCORCHING. We had barely any shade. We also pushed the pace a bit, even though the whole route was rolling hills.
Running with my brother is so fun. He is really fast, so he pretty much lets me set the pace. He is fun to talk to and I love seeing him healthy and strong doing something he loves.
The run was hard, but it was supposed to be hard. What sucked about Friday's run was that a 9 minute pace on FLAT terrain seemed unbearable. But today, with 6 miles in the heat and the hills, we busted out a couple sub 8s and ended up averaging an 8:14 pace. It was weird to see that pace on my watch. For 12 weeks I was only ever supposed to run a 8:53, 7:49, 7:39 or 6:53 (depending on the workout). It's been a long ass time since I just ran WHATEVER pace I felt like running.
Don't worry, I'm not gonna do anything stupid like go back to running six days per week. Four days per week sounds just perfect right now. And I am like 95% sure I'm not running the marathon. Unless in the next 2-3 weeks, running a marathon starts to sound fun to me, then I will do it. But I really don't see myself getting to that place.
But maybe if I run with my brother more, it will change my mind? I mean seriously, who wouldn't want to run with this guy!?
Do you have any Amish farms near you?
Glad you had such a good run! Im sure you really needed that. Sometimes I think we just need to do something different like run in a new place or with someone to really change things up.
ReplyDeleteYes! I wish I was more motivated to think outside the box. Dr. Phil says bored people are boring... aka it is my fault if I am bored running around my 'hood because I could totally go somewhere else to run! Hey are there any good running trails in Wildwood Crest or Wildwood that you know of? I may run when we are at the beach but I don't run on the beach or on the boardwalk anymore.
DeleteHaha, I run 6 days a week (but I will admit that the build up to that is ROUGH), and 4 of those days I run whatever pace. The other two days are my speed days (one is intervals, one is tempo). Those I do at specific paces, usually 5K pace for intervals and race pace for the tempo. But surely you knew that... hahaha.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty I don't like the idea of specific paces being laid out... I use it as a guide but if your body feels good or bad, you go with it. I try to stay within a range. Weather and whatever you ran the day before has a lot to do with it too.
Glad you and your bro got to run and it was a good run! You sound much happier and you're at peace with not running the marathon so I don't blame you one bit to scratch it. I think with the rest you took and getting back to a schedule that works for you, you'll enjoy running more and enjoy whatever race you do next, marathon or not.
I bet that is nice to have the majority of your weekly runs just doing what feels good. That is definitely something I missed these past 3 months. Yes I am definitely settling into my no marathon decision. It helps that it's not like this is THE LAST MARATHON IN THE WORLD. :)
DeleteI'm glad to hear you had a good run. All those miles you put in will pay off. 4 days/week sounds perfect to me.
ReplyDeleteYeah it sounds good to me too! Then I can lift 3 days and just alternate back and chest.
DeleteWhat a great run with your brother! That is awesome and hopefully you guys can run together more. How often do I run whatever pace?!? Um, always :) I honestly don't know if someone told me to run a certain pace if I could hit it. Some days running feels great and effortless and some days it feels tough so I am always kind of surprised when I see my pace at the end. No Amish farms where we live but when we were in Co Springs there were a bunch staying at our hotel and we chatted with them as much as we could. Such nice people.
ReplyDeleteYes Amish are very nice people and HARD workers. Where I grew up, it was not uncommon to see horse and buggies or Amish folks.
DeleteWhat pace do you normally run at Susan? I don't think we ever talked about that!
Glad you had a good run and got your mojo back again!
ReplyDeleteWhen I run on the rail trail i'm pretty sure a lot of those farms along the trail are Amish! It is just so peaceful. You have to come run it (or walk it) with me some time!
I would love to do that! And then we could swim with Baylee!
DeleteThe freedom to run whatever and however you want is the best part of ending training, honestly. It feels SO good. And I'm glad you got to run with your brother! That makes it even more fun :)
ReplyDeleteIt was great! :)
DeleteGlad to hear you had a good run! It is so liberating to run whatever pace you want. Which is what I did for my "easy runs"! That was a drag staying within a pace that I didn't enjoy. That's so cool that your brother runs too!
ReplyDeleteYes he is an AWESOME runner!!! He ran like a 3:03 marathon or something... 3 days after he was in the hospital with a staff infection. He asked me if I thought he could do a sub 3 and I said YES!
DeleteYou would love the farmland scenery!
ReplyDeleteI never thought of running the race with my brother. I think I may actually enjoy that!