Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Will Run For Chipwiches

Yesssssssss, I did my run last night. Yesssssssss, it blew.

I'm not sure if I was just not sufficiently recovered from my run on Sunday, or if the heat in Baltimore yesterday just zapped me (don't worry, I came to my senses and didn't try to run outside, I ran inside on the treadmill last night), but whatever it was, my run blew last night. I thought that after my 7 miles on Sunday, the 3 miles I had to do yesterday were going to be a piece of cake - not so much. My legs felt like lead as soon as I started the run. I thought I'd feel better as I ran further, sometimes it just takes me a mile or so to warm up (which is weird when you're only doing 3, but whatevs). Again...not so much. I got a mile in and then decided that it was imperative that I walk. So I walked for a minute or so. Then I started running again. The last two miles were a combination of running, sprinting, and walking. I thought about stopping multiple times, but I didn't (gold star, please). I probably
walked 2 minutes out of the 2nd mile, and 1 minute out of the last mile, but when I was running, I was running really quickly (I'm not sure if I'm trying to convince myself or you here, or if it really matters either way).

So, what did I learn:
  1. Go out slowly after your long runs, even if you've rested the day before. It's not going to be pleasant. I hope this improves with time.
  2. Stretch more. Stretch better.
  3. Right quad still annoying me. Still not sure why.
  4. Walking is not failing.
After my run, I went to dinner with some friends and treated myself to this:

Well hello, Mr. Beer! Aren't you JAUNTY? You're cold and you have carbs, I like you.

And some of this:
Because YES.

And then today Jeremy brought me one of these:
(NOTE: That is not my hand. Or my Chipwich. I downloaded that off the interwebs) which makes him awesome. It was delicious and by the end of it there was ice cream on my hands, my desk, my dress, and my arm. If you're going to eat it, enjoy it, don't be PRETTY about it.

So what else did I learn?

I'm one of those runners who thinks that when you run, you get to eat whatever you want without gaining weight. This is not in fact the case for two reasons:
  1. Your calorie burn still has to outweigh (pun intended) your calorie intake or you will gain weight. That said, generally, you burn about 100 calories per mile run, so last week I burned an additional 1600 calories over the course of the week, this week I'll hopefully burn an additional 1500 calories, etc. Now, do I think I'm eating that many more calories (and then some, to cause me to gain weight, which I have)? No - but if I keep it up, it might get that way. In reality I think the TUB OF HOUSE DRESSING I ate while in Charlottesville a few weeks ago is just catching up to me (it was worth it).
  2. You cannot eat whatever you want because it still needs to fuel you on your runs. You eat crap, you'll feel like crap. And you'll feel even more like crap because you're pushing your body to the limit and asking it to perform athletically.
I do not like either of the above lessons, but I'm forced to live with them if I want to accomplish my goal of running a marathon.

Am I going to run tonight, you ask? NO! Again, for two reasons:
  1. Based on my performance last night, I think I need a little more time to recover, so I'll run on Friday after my half-day of work.
  2. I GET TO SEE THIS PERSON TONIGHT!I just hope I won't stand that way or make that face...ever again. So excited to see you Smolls!


1 comment:

molly said...

ah! love! i am behind in my google reader. sooo good to see you but if there are no pictures then it didn't happen. guess i'll have to see you again before we leave, yes?

p.s. MPG on the way home w/ dan behind the wheel was 31. oh the horror. i'm pretty sure my dad's reading this BTW.