The 5K "Fun Run"

Today I had to push myself beyond what I wanted to do.

I believe this: I race faster than I train. There's something about the adrenaline, excitement, endorphins, or whatever that gives me an extra boost.

But that doesn't excuse me from training hard - in fact, it tells me I have to train even harder so that I can race faster!

Since I rode my bike Monday and Tuesday, today I really needed to run. And I decided since I didn't have any running partners (I tried to convince a couple of the girls to come with me, but it didn't work out), I should do a tempo run.

The dreaded tempo run: the 5K "Fun Run" on the treadmill. The profile breaks down like this:

1K: Flat
.67K: 1% grade
.33K: 2% grade
.67K: Flat
.67K: 2% grade
.67K: 1%grade
.33K: Flat
.33.K: 4% grade
.33K: Flat

I ran a mile at 6.0 to warm up, then set the speed at 7.5 for the 5K.

I held the pace easily for the first 1K. My heart rate hung out in the high 160s, low 170s.

My heart rate started to climb as soon as I hit the first hill. I steadied myself with the treadmill handles and kept going.

I started counting intervals. .33K to go until the next grade change - that's 1 minute, 20 seconds. Go, Jessica. You can do anything for one minute and 20 seconds - and it's only one minute now. My mp3 player battery was dead, so I had nothing but self-talk to keep me going. Okay, .10K until the next change... .9, .8, .7, .6...

The second kilometer is always the hardest. I always want to quit then - I'm not halfway yet, so it just feels so hard and like I have so much left to go. My heart rate was about 178 or so, flirting with the 180s. But then I hit the middle part, and it flattens out, and I catch my breath.

Then it goes back up...for 1.33K. I break it into tiny pieces, just a tenth of a kilometer, and count down - then do it again. I remind myself that I'm a runner.

I hit the last little flat bit before the big hill - the 4.0% grade - and I tell myself I don't have to sprint at the end. It will be okay for me just to push through like this. Obviously I can make it now.

On the big hill, I let myself grab onto the treadmill handles, I put my head down, and push. I lengthen my stride - it seems to help, even though when I'm running flat shortening my stride seems to - and it's over before I even realize it, and the last little .33K feels so easy now, completely flat and right at the end. I know before the treadmill is all the way back down that I will push the speed. I go to 8.0, stay there for a few seconds, then 8.5 when I hit .25K left. At .20K left, my right hand is out of my control. It pushes the speed up to 9.0. And there I stay - until a second later, the treadmill is slowing and my legs are out of control and my head is completely empty.

The normal headrush that I get after running a 5K actually hurt this time - it didn't feel good. Like a bad drug? Not my good runners' high.

The two-minute cooldown ended so abruptly. I needed to restart the treadmill and continue walking - my HR was down in the 130s, but everything felt sort of wobbly and bad. After three more minutes of walking, I was okay again.

So there you have it. 24:40 was the final time; this is a tie for my best 5K time ever. Next week or the week after, I'm going to have to start the treadmill at 7.6. And I'm very afraid of that.

I've got some numbers for today:

Food:
Breakfast: Pumpkin muffin and milk in coffee, 480 cals
Pre-workout: 1/2 Power bar, 110 cals
Post-workout: 1/2 Luna bar, 90 cals
Lunch: 20/20 chicken salad, 320 cals
Snack: String cheese, 80 cals
Dinner: Shrimp stir-fry and jasmine rice, 350 cals
Dessert: 2 ginger cookies (40 cals), 1/2 c fruit (60 cals) and the last mini-Dove bar to get it out of my house (60 more cals): 160 calories
TOTAL for the day: 1590 calories YAY!

Exercise:
5K fun run + 1 mile + walking
400 calories burned

Today = calorie deficit (1600 metabolic rate + 400 burned = 2000 - 1590 eaten = 410 calories under)

Morning weight: 142.4. I'm now emailing Aleks and a couple other gals my weight and weight goals...so I'm going back to recording them here. Blah. Today, 142. Goal: 135. Maybe 130, but I doubt it. I don't want to drop a clothing size, just the little extra that I don't need to carry around.