Tuesday, July 03, 2007

You think you're safe?

I saw the wildest thing when I was leaving the park today driving west on Memorial Drive. First, I saw a car parked on the side of the road and I was thinking, ok, maybe someone's picking someone up or chatting with someone they know. But the closer I got, I saw that there were 2 other cars sitting ON THE TRAIL. Well, not just sitting on the trail. The two cars crashed into the trees that line the trail. Can you imagine running along and all of a sudden two cars come flying across the trail and crash into the trees in front of you? It didn't look like at first glance that any runners were injured but the cars looked pretty badly beat up. I hope no one was injured.

T minus 17 weeks and 5 days left after today. Today's workout went off without a hitch. I actually ran pretty well, all things considered. Hal called for 5 easy miles with an optional "punch the accelerator" if I'm feeling good, especially at the end of the run. I was feeling pretty good so I punched it a bit. I stayed pretty conversational the last mile and about a quarter of mile 5. Then for the last half mile or so, I cranked it up just a half a notch and went tempo the last few hundred yards.

Total distance - 5 miles
Venue - Memorial Park
Mile 1 - 14:22
Mile 2 - 14:29
MIle 3 - 14:39
Mile 4 - 13:50
Mile 5 - 13:13
Average pace - 14:07
Total time - 1:10:35

I must confess, I've got some bad thoughts creeping in. I'm wondering if I can do this again. Doubts. I'm afraid to train hard for fear I injur myself. Fear. I'm uncertain about my training program. Uncertainty.

Now, last fall, after a good hard run like tonight's, I would have taken a day's rest. But this program calls for 3 miles tomorrow. I must admit, I'm feeling it a little tonght. Not a bad thing but I feel like I worked tonight. I'm going with the 3 tomorrow and see how I feel after this week. This program has me running 5 days per week but I want to say right now that I reserve the right to go to 4 days if I start feeling too run down. For now, though, we'll see how it goes.

6 comments:

RunninRobin said...

You CAN do this Vic! You are totally my inspiration so don't let those pesky doubts creep in. And by all means, do the 4 days instead of 5 if it is better for you!

J~Mom said...

I tried running five days a week and it was too much for this girl. As a matter of fact I have just decided it has to be every other day for me until I lose more weight. Listen to your body. That is #1 right now. You will know if you wake up and can't do it. Don't let the doubts creep in...if they plan you are on is too much have someone from your running club look at it.

Anonymous said...

I'm more of a 4-days a week kinda person as well. I do run 5 days sometimes (hey...I just realized I've run all 4 days this week). But I like the Mon/Tues/Thurs/Sat plan.

Can I ask where the big wagering event is in your life right now?

It's raining at our house; glad I got the run in early.

TX Runner Mom said...

Yikes, that's scary about the cars on the trail. I've sometimes wondered how many times that happens as I run along Allen Parkway. As for the training, you can do it! I agree that 4 days may be more realistic than 5. I think that extra day of rest does a body good!

Timmy said...

A few years ago I was running counter-clockwise at Memorial Park. All of a sudden a vehicle going west (facing me) hits the curb, jumps it and hits a light pole. Needless to say, it scared me.

Hang in there with the running. I know about those self-doubts. I have those days and tell myself that whether it is a 3 mile run or a 26.2 mile run, it only gets accomplished 1 step at a time.

Anonymous said...

Just getting caught up on reading the latest.

I disagree with everyone above. Running 4 days a week for training for a marathon is the easy way out.

Whats the point of doing a second (or tenth) marathon if you arent going to train as if its your last and you want to blow it out?

Train like you mean it. And if you dont mean it, then why run the thing in the first place?

Just my .02 and its worth even less than that.