Thursday, January 16, 2014

New Day, New Challenge.

Once again, packing my gym bag the night before made all the difference. If I wanted my work clothes, I had to reach in and unpack them, and that would have felt like I was admitting defeat. So I grabbed my bag and headed out the door.

This morning, I challenged myself with something different. Instead of chasing after a speed record, I decided to commit to a full hour of running. The pace didn't matter, other than it had to be something I could maintain for the full sixty minutes of running.

I started at 5 mph, but after only a few seconds, I knew that was going to be too slow. I quickly bumped it up to 5.2 mph and settled into an easy stride. Every half mile, I bumped it up again. And by the last cycle, I was running at 6.3 mph (or a pace of 9:31 per mile).

Here's the numbers:


More than numbers, though, I'm really happy with the overall run. I felt strong and steady the whole way, even in the last mile or so when I was running closer to my normal pace. I had all the right music playing, my posture and positioning were good, and the whole thing felt great.

I have no idea, yet, what I will challenge myself with tomorrow. And sooner or later, I want to work with a running coach and put together a real plan for the whole year. For today, though, i'm going to sit here all happy and proud of myself.

And that's a great feeling!




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