mardi 19 avril 2016

Week 33: Just keep slogging away.

It is the school holidays so the kids are under my feet.  My daughter had an aerobic training session at the beginning of the week, so I took the opportunity to go for a 10km run in the mountains.  My knees and legs felt sore but as I warmed up things got easier.  I ran comfortably and was able to run quite fast and managed 10 kilometres.  I still prefer running through the trees away from any tarmac and traffic noise.
"Run" does seem to me to be a big word for what is actually a combination of fast uphill walking and then jogging along ridges and downhill.  Despite reading, and being told it is normal to walk on uphill sections, I still feel guilty and a failure when I slow to a walk on slopes.
After an intensive gym session midweek, I forced myself out for a run.  I wasn't motivated at all despite the good weather.  I pounded around the local reservoir and decided that, as I was only going to do one circuit, I would run as fast as I could.  I finished feeling quite pleased with myself as I managed an average pace of 5:35 min/km, and a best pace of 4:32min/km.
My last run of the week was a 15 km circuit through the mountains.  The first part climbs steeply 400m before dropping down into a small valley and then climbing again up the other side of the valley before dropping back to the valley floor.  Again it felt very tough but I was presently surprised to find that my performance was not too bad.
I think my principle problem today could be my mental state.  I find it very hard to motivate myself to go out for a run, despite the pleasure I feel when a run is finished.  During the run I tend to have negative thoughts about how slow I am and how much it is hurting.  Although I do occasionally manage to think about other things, and this is when I usually run better.  Finally at the end I worry about how short the run was, even if my times and performance seem to be getting better.  I suppose it is all a case of confidence and patience, a good life lesson for me.

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