Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Running Long

I finally got back on track and started off this week (yesterday) with a long run. I also have a new distance PR by 0.5 miles. I know that I have the half marathon this weekend, and I actually should be taking it easy, but I had good reasons to go running for 14.5 miles.
"We thought you'd be over the rookie mistakes and not go for a distance PR so close to the half and after the long break."
1. I needed to get back into the distance running mode and on with my marathon training
2. The race this Saturday is purely for fun. I'm not looking to PR and have no time goals for it at all
3. I ran over the half marathon course, so it's relevant to race preparation

For the first time ever, I ran a course pre-race and ran a long run without my Garmin. The course was very boring, and I fear that running the course beforehand made me dread running it again.

As for the Garmin, it refused to catch signal and I didn't feel like waiting for it. Also, the bf had his own garmin that I thought I could hijack. And because I am such a nice girlfriend, I ended up leaving him around mile 5 to keep my pace. We stopped briefly then so that I can figured out what time we started running so that I can keep a rough track of the time it took me to run the course.

Since, I didn't want to be completely stupid and get injured, I even took walk breaks when I wanted to. I never do that during a long run! Surprisingly, including the walk break, I ended up with a 10:38/mile ish pace.

It was a nice surprise, since I thought I had been running 11:00/mile or slower. In addition, other than being sore with tight muscles, I am pretty certain that I didn't cause any lasting damage. I'm ready to get out for some easy miles tomorrow.
If I can only be graceful like that elephant, and be able to run more than 14.5 miles consecutively, I'd be a happy girl.
Now, I have a great internal debate. For the first time ever, I am considering racing without a Garmin. I know that if I have a watch on my wrist, it'll stress me out even though I'm treating it as a training run. However, without the watch, I'm afraid that I'll go out too fast or get discouraged from thinking that the finish line is farther away than it really is.


What are your thoughts on "naked" racing? Btw, thanks for all your comments about the great hair debate. It made me feel better about trying to shampoo every other day. And sorry about the disconnectedness of the post. I wanted to write something about the run, but it's getting to be past 1AM still with plenty to get done before sleeping. 

5 comments:

  1. I got my marathon PR by racing "naked". It was nice to just focus on how I felt versus how fast I thought I should be running. :)

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  2. I usually run with my garmin but I think sometimes running without it is good. Just depends on what is the best for you. I know a lot of people who race without garmins.

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  3. I've run without a Garmin during a race before, but I had a regular watch. I actually did that until Christmas when Mike bought me my own Garmin.

    Great job on your run!

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  4. I ran my fastest 5 miler naked and it was great. However, I love my numbers so I have run all others with it just so I can dissect them course on my computer afterwards! OCD, I know.

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  5. I never run with a garmin. The only problem I've ever had is when the miles aren't marked clearly. Then you sort of have no idea where you are :)

    But I really love running with only a normal watch. I am less obsessed with my pace in numbers, and I get more in tune with my the way my pace feels.

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