Reminiscing and Snow!

You know what I should be doing right now?  I should be doing homework, I should be looking up something for my work group to discuss that I have to lead in about 3 hours, instead I'm on here, writing completely unnecessary crap that no one cares about.

I was reading isweatandsparkle.home.blog about her first half marathon experience.  I was thinking of my first half marathon, which was close to 6 years ago.   During that race I sorta accidentally found a running buddy for most of the race.  You can read about it in the link I already created above, but I do think about her often when I think of that race.  I know that she helped me so much during that race.  I had been sick the month before that race and really didn't run many long runs before the race.  I did one 11 mile run the week before, but before that long run my previous long run at 8 miles, was 4 weeks before.  To say I felt under prepared is an understatement.

So, running with someone else, and being distracted for 8 miles was a blessing for me.  I left that race feeling good and very, very grateful to the girl I ran with.  I wondered if she also thought how nice it was to run with me, and I hopefully pushed her to run a good race.

5+ years later I still think about her, but now I worry.  She stopped to use the restroom durning mile 9 which is when I went on without her.  Now, instead of thinking that I helped her like she helped me, I now wonder if I hindered her.  Not in that she wanted to go faster, but in that she wanted to go slower.  Now I wonder if she finished the race.  She had told me that she had a cramp and she stopped to use the restroom.  What if running with her made her go faster than she wanted and she ended up with a much slower time than she was aiming for?

I know it's silly to be thinking these thoughts 5+ years later.  She probably doesn't think of me at all (I often think I'm forgettable and no one remembers me).  (I also often overthink stupid things and get stuck on them.)  When I ran my first half marathon I had been running for just over 1 year.  I have now been running for 7 years.  So what would my "experienced" runner say to my inexperienced runner say?  Don't worry about it.  If she had wanted to slow down, she should have slowed down.  But also, when she told you she needed to slow down, you should have said okay and let her (wait, that is still obsessing over it stupidly).

Anyway, my weekend was pretty uneventful.  I went for a 5 mile run on the treadmill because it was cold and Maddox was home playing with a friend.  It actually went pretty fast, which is pretty unusual for a treadmill.  I read recently that varying pace and incline on the treadmill can make it more "outside-like" so I did that quite a bit.  I looked up my average pace on my last 5 miles, which was 9.28 min/mile and googled what the corresponding pace on a treadmill was.  9 and a half min/miles equals 6.3 on the treadmill, I looked at other runs and decided I would vary my pace on the treadmill from 6.1 (9.50 min/mile) to 6.7 (8.57 min/mile) and increase my incline when I'm going slower. I had no specific times when I would change my pace and incline, just whenever.

Well, I found that I couldn't handle 6.1, it was way too slow.  I think I had it on 6.1 twice, both times I had a incline of 4 or more (I can't remember exactly).  And once I was running I didn't like the 6.7 pace either, I think I had it on 7.0 (8.34 min/mile) at least 2 times and 7.2 (8.20 min/mile) at the end.  My average pace for this 5 mile run was 8.54 min/mile (which ironically is just a little faster than 6.7 on the treadmill).

Sunday is grocery shopping day, which I hate because it's also long run day and we are leaving to shop at the same time I would like to be going for a run.  (I really, really hate it.)  This week as we were leaving for shopping it was snowing.  I love the snow, and I love running in the snow.  I think it's just the mental image I have in my head of snow running, but it just makes me happy.  (I do not love running in the snow after the snow has been around for a few days and started to melt and then re-froze.)  And of course, when we got done with grocery shopping the snow was done, and melted.

I put on my clothes and went for my run anyway, and while I was running it started snowing again.  But it also got really, really cold.  By the time I was done, I was frozen, but it was a good run.

I'm not going to mention my weight today, but if you're curious how I did for the month of January . . . well, it's on my "Scale Obsession" page.  (And it's good.) 

Have I mentioned that I am still doing my run streak?  I am on day 97 (reminder to myself to post on Instagram on my 100th day). 

On Sunday it snowed the entire day (except for the first 30 min of my run), but after it melted while we were shopping, it didn't stick again until Sunday night.  I love the snow, and I love making snowmen, and I love playing in the snow, and I love running in the snow.  However, I didn't get that chance because it didn't stick.  I woke up Monday morning to 4 inches (or so) and had to go to work.  (P.S. the Seattle area closes down when it snows, even a little, and it was a little more than a little this week.)  So last night I came home and had a brilliant idea for a "snowman."

Frozen pants.  =)