One thing I've learned about me is that I have an exaggerated sense of distance. My sister teases me about this, and it's funny because it's actually true. If you'd have asked me a week ago how far it was from my house to the schools I attended growing up, my answer would have been about two miles to my elementary school (it's actually less than one) and about five or six to my high school (actual: three). This revelation has been quite eye opening. Maybe just becoming aware will help me be more accurate in my estimates. That's my hope at least.
So last night went for a run. Because of my new goal, I decided that instead of just running for 30 minutes without worrying about distance or speed, it'd be nice to see how far I was actually going. I mean, my progress with trying to get out there lately might have been doing more good than I realized, right?
So I tied my laces and off I went. I headed straight up the hill towards this one parking spot at the base of the mountain, and then turned around and ran home. I kept my route simple, so that I could get on Google Earth and plot out my path, to find out exactly how far I had gone.
As I went along, I was thinking Yah! I'm really doing great! This is probably at least 5 miles round trip...maybe even six. I'm probably in much better shape than I've given myself credit for.
I pushed on through the discomfort I felt (probably from the Thai chicken curry leftovers I'd eaten for dinner not long before I left), and the dull achy knees that I always have after a bit, and fought the boredom that is intrinsic to running. And then instead of stopping at 30 minutes as I have since I started getting out there again, I just kept running, slowly, till I got home...which was 43 minutes. I ignored the tightness in my right thigh too...it was just tight, not painful, after all. And it was just my hamstring. Hamstring Schmamstring.
Finally, the moment of truth arrived. In my 43 minutes of running, according to the almighty Google Earth, I ran an amazing 2.74 miles. That sound you're hearing just now is the balloon deflating.
Oh well, so big deal, I thought. I'm not even running 5k yet (side note: I'm the chairperson of the food committee for a 5k happening in my community on June 14th. I plan on running it again this year. Last year it really did me in. I was a mess.) I'm just starting out, and I ran for 45 minutes. Yay Me.
Then I woke up this morning to the reality that the outside edge of my right knee was really sore. I mean, limping with every step. I went to church, but had to leave during it and come home for some prescription-strength ibuprofen. I've discovered that locking my right knee when I walk mitigates the pain. But I'm limping. It's pitiful!
Doc happens to have subscribed to Runner's World Magazine, and the recent issue is dedicated to begining runners. He gave it to me and now I'm trying to go about this with a little more direction. I went for a 30 minute walk tonight, just to keep myself limber, and hope that with some cross training I'll be back on track. Oh, and maybe some stretching would be good. I've never done any of that. (Newbie!)
4 comments:
I thought Google Earth said you ran 2.75 miles! There's a difference, you know. ;)
Don't give up! I'm just as slow. But you can do it. Sorry about your knee. Mine do similar things, especially when I try to push it a bit. Try doing some strength training for your leg muscles, it will help to stablilize your knee.
Also, I like to go to www.usatf.org
to map my runs. It's interactive mapping is much easier to use than google, at least I think so. And you can see other people's runs in your area or save your own. Check it out.
sorry you couldn't find it, try this link:
http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/
put in your zip code and center the map according to your run, then just click on the streets and it will start drawing your map and it will give you a running total.
hope this clears it up.
Hola my athletic sister. Kudos for stickin to it. What a coincidence, I just ran a 5K fun run this morning. It's an annual thing for my company and quite honestly this year I was unprepared and ready to blow it off; but I showed up at 5:45a anyway and pushed my way through it for a pretty respectable finish time somewhere around 30 minutes.
My boss was there running too - he's an elite runner (a truly amazing athlete - I could gloat but then again, it's nothing I'm responsible for). I think he was probably doing the 5K as his morning cooldown. This is the guy who won the 36 mile race up a volcano afterall.
So anyway, I asked him why I always get a cramp in my right side right around the third mile and he said it's probably the CO2 building up and I just need to exhale it out. I've never focused much on deliberate exhaling as much as inhaling (being asthmatic I'm always just a little short on air), but it's something I'll be paying more attention to in the future. For what it's worth.
Take care of those knees!
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