My friend and I spent a long weekend in California, just north of San Francisco. While there, we ran in the Petaluma 5 Mile Foot Race.
We did some wine tasting and enjoyed the sunshine after a very long New Hampshire winter. (This is me standing outside a tasting room.)
We even saw some redwoods which we had planned to run through. But the trail wasn't as jogger friendly as we had hoped. We walked most of the way.
My friend, Kim. (below) Me. (above)
But most importantly, I visited my father who is in the late stages of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). The speed at which he is deteriorating is abnormal and frightening. This was our final good-bye.
The Running:
I've been running since December. I am a slow runner. My goal is to get some speed. It's been working. But the last few weeks have slowed my progress. Juggling family obligations, mainaining a healthy marriage, and raising children seem to consume my life. I'm trying not to get too down on myself, but I missed two runs this week and my miles dropped drastically. I need to get my miles back up if I'm going to succeed.....to run a 25:00 5k.
The Petaluma 5 Mile Race: I started too fast.
I started out forcing myself to go slow. The running was hard (too much wine the day before? emotionally exhausted from visiting with my dying father?....who knows.) I was feeling slow. The race was hard. I didn't dare let myself look at my watch and get even more discouraged. Finally at mile 2 I checked my watch. I was running at a 9min pace! That's fast for me.
Hmmmm..... why did I feel so slow? .....perhaps it was all the other runners wizzing past? I probably could have kept up that pace for another mile or so. But, I still had 3 more to finish. I slowed down to about a 9:45 pace and finished in 47:11.
My goal for the coming week:
Mon: Travel (Home from SF)
Tues: 4 miles
Wed: 4 miles
Thurs: 4 miles
Fri: weights
Sat: 4 miles
Sun: 4-6 miles (depending on how I feel)
Megan~Don't be so hard on yourself. You are doing soooo well, and the important thing is that you are still running even if you are not running as much as you plan or want to. It is only when you stop completely that it becomes super hard to get back into. Besides, it sounds like you did great in the 5-mile run. I know what you are talking about when you felt like you were running so slow but then you realized you were running faster than usual. That feeling throws me off all the time and I have a hard time keeping a consistent pace because of it.
I am so sorry to read about your dad. That visit, and the circumstances surrounding it, would make for a very draining weekend. And emotional exhaustion has a huge impact on physical energy.