Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Day 1 of Marathon Training: a mental battle

It was a three round fight. Thank goodness the correct side won.

Round 1: My alarm went off at 4:55 a.m.. Hmmm... I REALLY wanted to stay in bed. It was cold and dark. Seriously. It was in the 30's. That is COLD for these parts. I laid there for a few minutes. I was dangerously close to falling back asleep resulting in a TKO for today's training. But I dragged myself out of bed.

Round 2: I was sipping my caffeinated beverage* and checking e-mail, thinking that I really didn't want to leave the house. I started researching birthday party ideas for my daughter and thought that I could have an hour of uninterrupted internet time. While it wasn't raining like it has been, it was still cold. And I am a wimp. But I put on my tights, put on a layer or two (not too much because I thought it might warm up) and finally left the house.

Round 3: I sat in my car just outside the gates of Lake Murray. Damn... I had forgotten my gloves. I could see Starbucks beckoning me. It was very tempting to blow off a tempo run for a hot grande skinny vanilla latte. This was the easiest round to win. I had already driven all the way over there... I would be an idiot to give up now. So... off I ran. I won the mental battle!!

The physical battle wasn't too bad. In fact, there wasn't much of a battle at all. I felt much stronger than I did during my run a week ago when I felt pretty darn sluggish. Today I felt really good. Because I had dragged my heels, I was coming up against the clock. I decided to cut my warm up and cool down to half mile each instead of the mile suggested on my training plan. My warm up was a bit faster than it should have been. I was freezing! I did my first half mile at an 8:47 pace-- oops.

The next three miles were pretty darn speedy. Even though my training schedule said to do them at an 8:25 pace, I guess I was doing more of a speed workout. Here are the splits:
1- 8:06
2- 8:17
3- 8:07
My cool down half mile was run at a 9:13 pace. Not exactly slow, but it felt slow. I think I can run 9-minute miles for quite a while. That is a good feeling. Overall, my average pace for four miles was 8:20.

I am glad that I fought and won the mental fight with myself. I still think that it is going to be an uphill battle to get motivated to train this time. I need to get into the groove.


*I have been drinking Zip Fizz for a while now. My friend, Jen, turned me on to it. I am not an early morning coffee drinker unless it is loaded with syrup and milk in a latte. Soda is too much for my tummy really early (although I am known to have a Diet Pepsi in the morning with my Luna Bar). I like my caffeine sweet, what can I say. Zip Fizz has a bunch of vitamins in addition to caffeine and it does the trick for me in the mornings.

11 comments:

Marathonman101108 said...

Congratulations! Not only did you win the mental battle, but you also won the physical battle with a great run. Your lap/mile times are looking good girl!! Keep up the good work.

jodes said...

Way to tough it out and get out there!! A lot of times for me the mental part is harder than the actual run. Sounds like you had a great run!!

Heather said...

Hi Lisa! I have been following your running for a while now, and I have to say the "mental challenge" is what has kept me from finishing...well, almost everything I've considered doing. I'm inspired by you! Maybe I'll even start walking again (gotta start somewhere, right?). I'd love to be a runner someday. Keep it up, girl.

Janice {Run Far} said...

Way to win that battle with the ole head. Great pace, that is Boston qualifying time.

Anonymous said...

Good job on winning the battle! I'm right there with you, it's been cold here lately. Early morning temps in the low 30's and it's been raining a lot. I struggle to get out when I'm chilled to the bone!

I bought some ZipFizz at Costco a while ago and liked it, but never thought to drink it before early morning runs! I'll have to try that. Otherwise I typically drink tea lattes in the morning, but not before a run!

Oz Runner said...

nice job on getting out there despite the mental battles going on...and I only WISH that I could run 9 minute miles all day....great job on the run.

RunnerMom said...

Wow! If that's your first-day pace, what's your marathon going to look like? Getting out there is so hard some days, but you had a great run.

MCM Mama said...

Way to get out there! And, wow, your speed is really picking up!

Anonymous said...

I had the same problem this morning when my alarm went off. And don't worry, you're not a wimp, 30 degrees without gloves can be cold! (I should know, right?) :-)

We'll keep you going by cheering you on Lisa, don't worry. I seriously wish I had your speed for the distances like you do.

Aka Alice said...

Good for you for getting out there this morning. It is cold.

LOVE zip fizz. I like how it gives me the jolt, but no caffeine jitters (I sound like a commercial don't I?)

The Alien said...

That was a really fun way to put the mental battle, which is usually the hardest of the battles. A lot of the times it is harder to go out and start running than to keep running once you have started.

Just keep it up, everyday, and you'll be in the groove in no time

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