This Did Not Get Easier

So, I have had a pretty bad run week. My goal is to run 3-4 times a week. Mostly 30 minute runs with at least one 45 minute run each week.  I did fine on Tuesday--30 minutes on the treadmill and even managed to do closer to a 14 minute mile than a 15 minute mile. Then on Thursday, I decided to run on the indoor track. It's about 90 degrees here this week so I didn't think it was a good day to try the run outside. But I knew I had to move beyond the treadmill. Well, it was not so good. I didn't feel great on my way to the rec center. I started my run, got about 15 minutes and felt awful. Decided to take a one lap walk and do the second 15 which I would have been okay with but I could only make it 8. Not sure what happened.  I think it was a combination of the way I was feeling, my confidence in doing this run away from the treadmill, and the fact that I was on this tiny 1/13 of a mile track and it felt like I was running forever. So, I'll try again tomorrow. See what happens. I am shooting for 45 minutes tomorrow and will probably run on the treadmill. Next week, temps are supposed to be in the 70s so it looks to be perfect running weather. Maybe that is the week to try the run outside.

The Race for the Cure is in 2 weeks from tomorrow.  I am not confident that I will be able to run the entire race and I am actually okay with that.  I think I am seeing this whole running thing for what it is--a big journey with no end point. There are good days and bad days. Some days don't go as quite as planned but the only way to get better is to keep at it.

I did really think this would get easier this week. For the last 16 weeks, I've increased my run time every week or two which has kept things really hard. Once I hit 45 minutes straight, I really believed 30 minute would be semi-easy. Not easy like no-big-deal-easy, but I was certainly not worried about not making it.  I am a little thrown by this turn of events so I'll see what happens in the next few runs.  I guess when I think back to the beginning of this and the big jumps in time I did, it did take a few weeks of runs to "get used" to the run. And everyone I talk to who runs says that the first mile is always hard.  So maybe 3 miles will never get easier.

Hopefully, I'll wake up tomorrow with tons of energy and move right past this little glitch.