It's amazing how much of a difference it makes to have good shoes. I don't know if I could tell that much of a difference before, but getting into longer runs is where I think I'll really see it. Generally speaking the first thing I noticed in my short run yesterday was the amount of cushion. What a huge advantage when it comes to simply the amount of pounding on your feet that takes place during running. I try to run on pavement vs. concrete whenever possible, or even better if there's trail beside pavement anywhere, but the new shoes give me that much more of a buffer and support. I've also started stretching not just before and after runs, but also every morning before work and sometimes randomly at night if I just feel like I need it. I know it's important to go easy on stretching when your muscles aren't warmed up, but constantly doing it just makes me feel so much better. We did do Insanity yesterday after running, but we modified everything to be lower impact (no jumping). I'm going to kill my knees otherwise, doing that while training for the half...
Those three miles yesterday was a little bit of a struggle unfortunately, but I was still kind of feeling it from Saturday, and I was pushing a bit of a faster pace than normal due to running with a buddy. It's great, though, because it challenges me. I could easily go out and run comfortably, but I might not get much better. I recently heard that you're supposed to take it a little slow for your long runs (for me that's the group runs on Saturday mornings), work on your speed during the week (2-3 shorter runs), and then just give it your all on race day. (I'm thankful for these "tips" because, really—I have no idea what I'm doing.) Even still, with 7 miles being a challenge for me this past Saturday and running with faster friends twice this week (which I love—not just for the challenge but for the company), today I think I'm going to go out on my own and take it slow. I want to just soak in what I've come to love about running itself, not worry about time (forget the rules), put on some music, and just make it fun. I think you have to remember what's fun and what you love about what you do sometimes, regardless of what it is. It's what makes going on mission trips so good for me and the other missions coordinator at church. Besides the other obvious benefits (which have nothing to do with us anyway), it's just great to get out and see why we do what we do. Because even in the field that we're in, it can be easy to slip into "work mode" and getting things done at the office, since, if you look at everything as a whole, our jobs are actually primarily admin tasks. I think the same can be applied for anything. It's all about paying attention...
One thing I am ecstatic about is the weather we're having this winter. I could not have asked for better winter weather for training! All throughout November, December, and now January, we've had temps consistently reaching the '60s and even '70s. There have definitely been a few pretty-cold days here and there (seemingly on the days I'm out running!), but for the most part it has been absolutely incredible. Last year was MUCH colder by this time of year, and had been for a while, so I am just extremely thankful that God chose the year He did for me to run a half marathon... :) He sure knows me well.
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| January temps! And this isn't even that rare a week for this whole past winter! |
Speaking of God, I had a great conversation with two friends last night, also runners, about making running to be about glorifying God, as well as seeing it as an opportunity to witness. One said that another friend, when asked about running the full marathon she's currently training for, will instinctively answer, "God-willing. Yes, I'm going to run a marathon, God-willing." Like anything else in this world that we are passionate about and do, it is all a gift from God—not anything we're entitled to but something He allows us to have and to experience. Besides getting t-shirts with a verse printed on them for race day, one question one of these friends asked me last night has really stuck with me and is my current challenge "off the trail": "How are you making running about glorifying God?"
So I'll just pass that one on as I think about it myself... "How are you making [whatever you do and/or are interested in] about glorifying God?"
I have read that you can't run too slow on your long runs.
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