Week 3 was a great week for running--but man, was it hot! I haven't been running with music as much as usual, but for the first run I decided to. I also decided to try and explore as many new routes as possibly, to keep things interesting. To that end, as I was starting out my run on a pretty normal path, I decided to detour, noticing a clear trail where I hadn't noticed one before. The woods aren't very big, so there wasn't a ton of trail...but I enjoyed the little bit that there was.
My 4 mile Wednesday run brought more new ground, more "nature", and some MUD. Sometimes, running means getting dirty! I ran through the parkway and ended up in the Wimmer Wetlands. After some days of rain, there was some flooding over the trails. I came to this underpass, excited for some shade, and approached it slowly, seeing that there was some mud across the concrete. I came to a quick stop after realizing that it wasn't just a little mud--it was several inches of sticky mud, covering the entire pathway. There was no way to cross it while running--wasn't even sure how to walk it. I ended climbing through against the wall. After that, there were still puddles. So needless to say, I got a little muddy. But the bright spot in my run came right as I was turning around--just off the path, a deer trotted into view. I got pretty close, taking careful steps toward it. It was pretty cool. (Again, I'm a city kid :-) )
Run #3 of the week happened early Friday morning. I'm not generally a "get up and work out" kind of girl. I don't like getting up any earlier than I have to. But I'm committed to doing this thing, and doing it right. I wasn't able to run my 3 miles on Thursday as scheduled, so I took the next best option. This turned out to be my favorite of my short runs. early morning runs always remind me of running at Camp--the quiet, I think. The world that hasn't quite woken up yet. It made my heart happy to find that in the city. Plus, I got to catch this awesome sunrise :-)
I was excited to run before it got too hot and sticky (though it wasn't exactly comfortable!) I was super happy with my pace on this run. I've been working on my speed, especially kicking it in during the last lap. Super happy with this one!
This week's long run was a short one, just 5 miles. I waited until the last possible moment on Sunday night, until it cooled off some, and had my fingers crossed that an afternoon downpour would help to dissipate the humidity. Originally I wanted to run down by the lakefront, Veteran's Park/Bradford Beach area. But on my way there, I remembered that Summerfest would likely making parking difficult. So I choose to start at South Shore Park instead.
I love South Shore for many reasons. Most importantly, it's a place where I feel really connected with my dad. I chose to run toward Cudahy, which made my heart feel even happier--familiar trails. The humidity didn't break until more than halfway through the run--I took this picture of a beautiful bench overlooking a beautiful cliff, because it was at the top of a nasty hill, and I really wanted to sit my ass down on it--but I didn't. I kept going. It was a great run. I really kicked it in at the end, knocking an entire minute off my pace in that mile.
I talked in my last post about running being a big mental game. I spend half the time talking myself into it and half the time talking myself out of it. My mind is constantly going. There are days where I try to find the flattest route possible to make it easy, but then in my head I hear, "The only way to get better at running hills is to run hills." And sometimes, I change course.
I owe a really big shoutout to my co-coach, my incredibly inspirational, my spectacularly supportive friend, Janet. She's the reason I've been able to push myself to go farther than I'd ever thought possible. The one who said to me, after her half marathon last year, "Next year, you!" And I thought, "Yeah, right..." But there I was this May. After which, I might add, she said to me, "So now we're going to train you for a full!" And I said, "Yeah, right..." But here I am. My favorite thing to say to myself, when I'm really struggling, is something Janet told me right before we started the half: "Your body knows how to run." She's right--it does. And when I run out of energy to fight the mental battle, I let that be my default.
Week 3 is in the books, and tomorrow starts week 4. I'm not where I want to be yet, but with every step, I'm getting there.
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