four for tuesday - gerlinda
well. i'm proud of myself. i set my alarm for 5am...and actually got out of bed before 6. i arrived at the trail only 20 minutes later than i'd intended. the air was pearly and dewey rather than thick and wringing. it was probably in the upper 70's - perfect. the sun was just dawning as i started, and i felt really good.
it is - significantly - more difficult to run in "the real world." for one thing, there are hills. and even though i've been careful to always have *some* incline on the treadmill, actual real life hills are much more daunting. i hate them, so i try to muscle up them faster than the flats, and then i slow down until i catch my breath. also, there is a certain drag (i guess what abby calls 'resistance') in real life that doesn't exist on a treadmill. my body, overall, feels heavier and harder to pull through the air. but, i ran and ran past the first mile marker, then the second, then i turned around and before i knew it i was at the 3rd...and then there was the finish line - and i didn't die; i ran strong the whole way.
my car was parked maybe a 10th of a mile past the last mile marker - and i was interested to see what my time was, so i kept jogging, wanting to turn on the key & look at the clock on my dash (having no sports watch - alas.) It turns out, i did the run in under 40 minutes. so, i guess i go faster when i'm out in the real world. i should probably slow down a bit on the longer runs. maybe that's another reason why last week's 6-miler was so difficult.
i had a little "Chariots of Fire" moment in my head as i finished the run today. it was just so great to know that i can do it, that i can run in the real world and not loathe every second. the key, for me, is to do the runs at dawn when the world is a little quieter, a little darker, a little cooler, a little kinder.
it is - significantly - more difficult to run in "the real world." for one thing, there are hills. and even though i've been careful to always have *some* incline on the treadmill, actual real life hills are much more daunting. i hate them, so i try to muscle up them faster than the flats, and then i slow down until i catch my breath. also, there is a certain drag (i guess what abby calls 'resistance') in real life that doesn't exist on a treadmill. my body, overall, feels heavier and harder to pull through the air. but, i ran and ran past the first mile marker, then the second, then i turned around and before i knew it i was at the 3rd...and then there was the finish line - and i didn't die; i ran strong the whole way.
my car was parked maybe a 10th of a mile past the last mile marker - and i was interested to see what my time was, so i kept jogging, wanting to turn on the key & look at the clock on my dash (having no sports watch - alas.) It turns out, i did the run in under 40 minutes. so, i guess i go faster when i'm out in the real world. i should probably slow down a bit on the longer runs. maybe that's another reason why last week's 6-miler was so difficult.
i had a little "Chariots of Fire" moment in my head as i finished the run today. it was just so great to know that i can do it, that i can run in the real world and not loathe every second. the key, for me, is to do the runs at dawn when the world is a little quieter, a little darker, a little cooler, a little kinder.
posted by August at 9:23 AM
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