Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Day 202 - 157.0 A "real" run

Stayed on plan food wise yesterday, and had no extra food last night, which paid off with that extra pound gone this morning.

The big news is my run. I ran outside on an actual road for the first time ever. Not on a treadmill and not just in the neighborhood in a circle, but on the actual road where cars drive and "real runners" run. I put 1.5 miles between me and my house, and I ran back 1.5 miles. I wasn't fast--I finished in 36 minutes--but it wasn't a smooth course and I had to stop a few times for traffic and also took a couple walk breaks. I'm guessing I ran mostly 11 - 11:30 miles.

When I left work yesterday to go to the gym, the weather was simply amazing. There was no way I was going to run inside and miss the first beautiful day of my running year. So I decided to run outside.

Driving home to change, I was excited as if I was going on a first date, I couldn't get out of my work clothes and into my running stuff fast enough. It was kind of funny, but I loved the rush of knowing I was going to run "like a real runner"!

I know, I know. I'm a real runner on a treadmill. But there's something special, I think, about putting miles on the road. It was a different workout than a treadmill, that's for sure. I had to lateral-step a lot, going off the pavement onto the shoulder (usually grass and sometimes not-runner-friendly torn up asphalt and even gravel in several places) and back onto the pavement. I ran between 4:20 and 5:00 p.m., so I hit going-home traffic toward the end of my run and was on the side of the road more often than not.

I almost turned my ankle once, which freaked me out but thankfully I somehow recovered quickly. And once when a big truck blew by me I had one of those irrational thoughts of "what if that truck hits me? No one knows I'm out here, I have no ID on me, no one would know who to call if I died, and who would pick up my kids from day care?" Okay, so it's not that irrational and I probably need to start carrying my drivers license on me if I continue to run like this, and maybe let my husband know I'm running outside, just in case.

It's another gorgeous day today-- I'm looking forward to a good old fashioned road run again. Maybe I'll get 4 miles in today. But....

I think I'm getting a head cold, which is making me feel pretty crappy and headachy, and I am not happy about it. It better be gone by Sunday's race. I'm going to go get some cold-eze stuff after work that will hopefully help make it all better. I have no time to be sick, darn it. Please send healthy vibes my way. =)

4 comments:

ws said...

Starting from the end first, you should buy one of these: http://roadid.com/Common/default.aspx

I could never do that quick clothing switch. I'd need to do random 'things' before being able to just go run...and those lateral steps kill me.

drink water and OJ (ignore the calories), that should help the cold. feel better soon.

ws said...

just saw your comment. I think #170 is an excellent number. It is a multiple of my favorite prime number, 17. Numbers only talk to me sometimes, this one doesn't have much to say except that you'll rock that 5K on Sunday.

Vickie said...

Do you have a safe pathway somewhere in your area that you could keep your running gear in the trunk, change at work, and then go somewhere with a smooth even path and no direct traffic ??? It could even be neighborhoods, although I know that sidewalks can be very irregular in some areas.

Vickie said...

Are you running WITH your cell phone? If you are - plug your emergency numbers in there too - so someone finding you/your phone could easily call someone - like Paul - husband, MOM, work, home, Paula - friend, etc.