A head full of Numbers.

"There are no short cuts to any place worth going."

— Beverly Sills

I had planned all week running outside and that plan was thrown out the window with more snow today! I was on my way to church and angry at Mother Nature. I was angry at the snow for ruining a already difficult run.
What was I going to do? 18 Miles...where was I going to run?

I am not a numbers girl. Math was never my thing. Andy is a numbers guy. He is always there helping me with my splits, my pace, my miles and all the numbers in between.

I headed to the club. I considered changing my long run to tomorrow when the weather would be better but I just could not prolong it. I just wanted to get it out of the way.
The hardest part about running a long run is getting your shoes laced up and just doing it! That is not saying that running it is easy...Cause let me say it is not EASY..But it gets in your head first before you ever start.
I was going to try and do the whole 18 on the track.  That is where the numbers began.
As I approached the track it was 1:05pm I should be done by 3:45 if it all goes as planned.

4 times around equals 1 mile plus a little bit farther because it was not a perfect 400 meter track.
There were mile markers to help me but they only went to 10 miles. I would have to figure the rest out on my own. 
72 times around the track.plus a extra 2 laps..74 laps to make my 18 miles.
If I averaged a sub 9 minute pace I should be done about 2hours and 40 minutes.
I was starting at 1:05pm..I should be running till 3:45..

I had my GPS turned off on my Garmin so I could do my splits. I didn't even make it to mile 4 and I hit the split button to soon getting caught up in the excitement of the other runners. Now my brain was on overload trying to recalculate my splits and mile.

The track was full of runners and walkers who had no idea that they were all my running partners this afternoon. I was secretly running with them or running behind them. Todays runners were running a bit faster than me. I didn't mind lagging behind them but I really had to discipline my body and mind to run my own pace. I wanted to cheer them on and say things to them like "Great Pace", "Keep it up" and "Solid RUN" but I kept silent.

I got to 10 miles and then had to flip numbers around because that's where the track markers ended. . I had 8 more miles..about 69 more minutes. 48 more laps. I think I can..I think I can...

And again I stumbled over my numbers. I somehow lost track between the laps and my time not matching the track clock, I knew I did something wrong but I couldn't stop to figure it out. When I finally finished all my running partners had been "Long" gone and I just felt like something was not right.
I try not to cheat my running. I am not an exaggerator or someone who stretches the truth with my running.
I was concerned I had only ran 17 miles so to be safe I hit the treadmill for 1 more long excruciating mile. My legs felt like rubber. My shoes didn't want to come off the belt. I was digging deep adding this mile in. I put the TM on "Track View" so I could see myself going around again. I felt like I was going nowhere. It was the slowest mile even at a 8:34 pace I was crawling.

After a 12 minute cold plunge and a hot shower I started to feel human again. I checked out my Garmin and started looking at my splits, time and where I messed up.

This is what I came up with:
RUNDOWN:
Time: 2h 41m
Pace: 8:49
Miles: 18. 49

Running and Life Collide... Lessons I learned today

1. No Excuses...Make it happen
2. The biggest battle is in your head.
3. Run Your own Pace
4. Obstacles are always going to invite themselves: be ready for a BACK UP Plan NOT a BACK OUT Plan!
5. If you Cheat you are Cheating yourself!

• Congrats To "MOLINA" she ran her 1st half marathon, The Princess Half Marathon and 5K!!
• Thanks to MOM for my homade chocolate chip cookies and Blueberry pie. It made my run worth it. So yummy. Mom makes THE BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

"Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in. It's a state of mind-you could call it character in action."

— Vince Lombardi

 

ANITA~