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Long. Slow. Distance.

Miles run: 10.07
Time: 1:37:44
Pace: 9:42
Calories: 1234 (interesting number)
HR: 163/180
Perceived effort: 8.5
Temp: 17°
On the iPod: Lose Yourself by Eminem
Tough run. After three days off the road. Thank you Mother Nature for the snowstorm and breaking my momentum. Not.

First half mile was agony. I felt leaden. Seriously thought of stopping, calling it a day. I was riddled with self-doubt, cold, lethargic limbs and low energy. I don’t know what kept me going, maybe the thought that it would get better, that I couldn’t pass up this gloriously beautiful and sunny day, that I want to get my momentum back, that I don’t want a goal of a marathon this year to slip through my fingers.

I pressed on with only the sun to cheer me. The wind was a little irritating, cutting into my face. My neck gaiter (thank you for this gift, John) seemed like it was two sizes too big. Maybe I’ve lost neck weight too. Though I that seems ludicrous–more likely the last wash/dry it went though had something to do with it. I’ll have to pin it tighter next time. My neck, man… I think John got me the gaitor just to shut me up about how my neck controls my whole body’s comfort level. It’s cold, I’m cold. It’s warm, I’m fine.

Mile 3 to 4, I felt great. Felt like the five mile goal would be cake. I was happy at this point for pressing on.

Mile 4 to 5, kinda sucky. That mile has three rollers on it. For you non-cyclists out there, rollers are minor hills and valleys that, while they’re not difficult at all, provide enough unbalance to mess with your pace and undermine your rhythm. And when running or cycling long distance, rhythm is everything. I hate to stop for any reason.

Speaking of stopping… I had to stop TWICE for my stupid loose shoelaces. Second time, I finally tucked them under the lower laces to fix the problem. Grrr.

Past mile 5 now. Still feeling really good. Decided to go for double the distance and get some really big bonus miles. Again, the day is gorgeous… and can’t resist the double-digit mileage. Hit mile 7 and decided I should have eaten breakfast. A cup of crappy tea didn’t do the trick (later figured out my tea was bad and chucked it. Cracked the cellophane on a new box and it was much better).

Miles 7 to 10 were très, très tough. But they have to be done. It would be worth it.

Noticed three empty beer cans and one banana peel on the road. I hate seeing beer cans. Makes me wonder what the story is behind them. Did they just fly out of the back of a pickup that was on it’s way to make a big return? Or did they fly out of the window of a heavy drinker’s car? I don’t want to know. The banana peel? BJ and his Bear probably stopped by the truck stop down the street from my house and threw it out of his window.

And so I end the day with FIVE bonus miles. I rock. Well, I can say that now for overcoming crippling thoughts of quitting in the first mile. But before I get too generous with the self-praise, let’s see what tomorrow brings. I suspect more of the same thoughts AND physical weariness on top of them.

Why Lose Yourself? It’s been languishing on my iPod for several weeks now but never entered into the random rotation. Today is the first time I think I heard it. I’m not really an Eminem fan, but his songs, I’ll admit, are annoyingly catchy. This one in particular seemed iPod worthy. True enough, it really picked me up during a rough patch of the run early on.

This entry was posted Saturday, February 17th, 2007 at 2:52 pm and is filed under Running. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.