Saturday, February 25, 2012

Days 4-6: 17 weeks until race

Day 6: Today was the Walk for Life Fundraiser at the Alaska Dome.  I went early because I knew today was going to be a busy day.  Although I only raised $100 for the Pregnancy Center in Anchorage (goal was $200), they still let me participate.  They also let me run, which really made my day.  The dome is the largest air-supported structure of its kind in North America and provides an indoor soccer arena surrounded by a semi-padded running track (great for the knees).  And when it's 14 degrees outside, nothing beats running indoor somewhere other than the gym.  I actually had to propel my body forward, rather than just lifting my legs and letting the treadmill do most of the work.  I also got to look around at something other than butts in underwear/shorts and even saw a friend.  And because she wasn't at the gym, she was dressed appropriately for public eyes.  That was a plus.
Although in theory, running on a treadmill is easier than running on a track or outdoors, I always run better when I'm not on a treadmill.  There's just something scary about a treadmill that makes me run slower--maybe the thought that I might set my speed too high and fall flat on my face in front of everyone at the gym.  When running on a track, there's comfort in knowing that I have the control to stop/slow down/speed up/turn at any given moment.  A treadmill belt just doesn't offer that kind of control to a runner, or to me at least.
After I got past my three mile wall, I realized I only had one mile left, which was four times around the track.  The number four felt great compared to when I started and was thinking, "I need to go around this thing 15+ times!"  Surprisingly enough, there was so much activity going on all around me, that before I knew it, my run was over.  Listening to "There is No Arizona" by Jamie O'Neal helped get me pumped (and pissed) as I ran my last stretch.  The song is about a women who is deserted by some liar guy who keeps telling her he's going to come for her and bring her with him to Arizona.  What a jerk, and what a great reason to get pissed and finish hard!

Day 5: Because of such a crazy day/week at work, I was already beat by the time I hit the gym.  Also, since day 6 was going to be a longer running day, I decided to do a one-miler on day 5.  I increased my speed since I decreased my distance.  It's amazing how much faster a short distance goes by, especially when you are running at a faster rate.
I also went to a one hour yoga class to help me stretch and relax after my gym work out.  I was the most inflexible person in the class, but I'll just assume that's because I was also the toughest and most muscular runner...

Day 4 was a complete rest day.  The most activity I did was moving my pizza from my plate to my mouth, although I thought about how I should technically just stuff my face into my plate to promote less movement.  By the way, I ate half of a medium pizza.

Quote of the day: *singing/belting* "There is no..Arizona..."

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