I do not like when things don't go my way...
I would like to tell you all that I am a good little runner. That I take my mistakes and learn from them easily. That when I sit down to look at what went right and what went wrong, in my latest run, that I take the "what went wrong part" and work on changing it and improving it. But alas, I am a Stubborn Runner and apparently that is not what us stubborn runners like to do. Instead, we contemplate the run, assess what went right and what went wrong and then proceed on doing the exact same thing the next time instead of trying to make changes.
Case in point, the last two treadmill hills workouts I have run, have been less than stellar. Last Thursday, I did 4 miles with three hills. I wanted to break 30 minutes. End result was more like 31 and change. My stomach hurt all during this run and I had to keep jumping off the treadmill and resting. Afterwards, I thought about why my stomach was so upset. Maybe it did not like the granola bar I ate right before I went on the treadmill, although I often eat granola bars right before I run and/or maybe I was going too fast.
Fast forward to Tuesday, 3 miles 3 hills on the treadmill. Same situation - bad stomach pains and a lot of starting and stopping. Instead of under 22 minutes my time was 22:42 and that is being generous.
Maybe I should just stick to the natural runner's food groups before a run - you know, ice-cream and sprinkles and the like
I have been contemplating these runs a great deal. Thinking that it would be wise for me to change my eating patterns and/or slow down. I would like to go outside and give that a whirl (because I think I do better outside) but honestly there is something about the dark and cold mornings that I just don't do. Instead, I like to wait until the very last second and sleep as much as I can and then hop out of bed and cram in some quick miles before scurrying to work. But if I am going to just stick with the treadmill, something has got to change. I know this and I have been battling with it all week. Ideally, I need to get through tomorrow's 4 mile treadmill run with 3 hills WITHOUT STOPPING. I have run 26.2 miles without stopping, I can run 4! But lately on the treadmill I cannot seem to do this. This means only one thing to me. I need to slow down!
The idea of slowing down on these lower milage runs is hard on me and on my pride. I want to do my best every time I run and work as hard as possible thus it is very difficult for me to force myself to go slower. However, I know based on the past two runs slower might be my faster for right now. I also know that there are other important goals besides just having my fastest run. Right now my goal needs to be to get through a run without stopping and with no stomach pains.
So tomorrow, I will promise to start slower. I will start at a 7:53 pace and assess how I feel. If it feels really good, I will kick it up one notch. If it feels bad, I will kick it down. If I feel just ok, I will just keep it at the 7:53 and go from there. I WILL NOT STOP! That has to be the goal for tomorrow and one I have to accept. As for the tummy pains, I might try a half of banana tomorrow morning instead but we shall see how I feel when I wake up..
So that's it. Here is to becoming less of a stubborn runner.....
Are you a stubborn runner? Any good advice from one runner to the next?
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