the dunes sans tunes
stats:
Tues. 12-13-05 10:40a.m. approx 20+ degrees
(feels colder than sunday's 15 degrees...i wish there was a degree button on my keyboard. could this ` work?)
37.13 min
3.05 mi
ave: 12.12 min/mi
best: 9.44 min/mi
TRAIL RUN ... sorta
I really dunno what qualifies as a trail run. There are dirt -sorta- trails out behind-around our neighborhood. I know people use them for bike riding and motorcycling and 4wdrive stuff (?) and jeeps and such. (also for throwing trash...i saw a --fitted--sheet out there today!, some real trash, some books, some clothes, some cardboard boxes, some beer bottles --of course...) Well, i NEED to talk to some folks around here, possibly from the local running club (that i haven't made use of yet...soon i might call myself a runner and join...but i'm scared they just get together and drink beer....no, i'm just a pansy. i don't want them to look at me and go, "uhhhh, this club is for REAL runners!") to find out what people do who want to do trail runs in this area. perhaps i haven't made it clear, i live in the desert! i do see some hills (qualify for mountains around HERE) that i think would be fun to HIKE. know-what-i-mean,vern?
but, anyway, if you can call what i did, a trail run, there you have it. wow, it was slow. i mean THAT kind of 'trail,' you really have to watch where you put your feet. and in places, there are extreme low-but-often HILLS...you know for bmx bike riding? yes, well, those are fun(ny) to jog upon! so i sorta ran around and up and down and dint really have a pattern OR a route...just kinda jogged. and prayed. OH YEAH... the non-runner's guide to marathon (not the EXACT title) says to run w/o your headphones. they say to FOCUS on your running. learn to LOVE it, etc. well, i'm a PROPONENT of my ipod shuffle (as you know). so, to me, THAT is PART of my escape. but i thought i'd give it a shot. well, i did pray a LOT....and back there, in the boonies, i just went ahead and did it right out loud. it was cool, the people the Lord brought to my mind! and it wasn't bad. the time doesn't go as fast. i even did that stupid (?) thing the book tells you to do...when you come to a hill you don't despise the hill, you say to the hill, "come run with me!" (doesn't that just reek of silliness?) well, whatever, i did it anyway. not on those million little hills (i avoided THEM altogether) but on this one big hill. now, i don't know that it helped. i just did it and ran it real slow. (they recommend that you also do that with pain, fatigue, etc. weird, huh? well, it works for some.) the theory is that you don't focus on how tired or in pain you are, or how long and HARD the hill is...but that you embrace it, i guess? well, it's all about the mental game thing. perhaps it just gets your mind on another tangent. it MIGHT have done that for me.
well, it was purty darn cold. today was supposed to be a 4 mile run. but i had to cut it short cuz we were planning on going to the narnia movie! 'twas gggreat! dh, ds (9) and i. AND I HAD POPCORN! i'm doing my 6 miler this wkd in a big race for this area, the cable bridge run. it should be fun AND counts for my long run! yeahoo! i wonder if there will be a 1/2 marathon i can do whenceupon i get to my 13 mile long run part of 'my training.' (i'm still only saying that i'm 'training for a marathon' with fear and trepidation!)
any comments WELCOME on the things i'm ignorant about or things i can improve upon. PLEASE! i generally read blogs of hard-core ultra athletes...who like do 3milers as their warmups! (and eat salt tablets, btw! honestly, i hope i never have to do that! it reminds me of reading little house on the prairie and reading about "salt licks" for...i dunno, bison--?-- "in the olden days"!!) ah me. so, comment away. info and input SOUGHT!
God bless~~~ kt
posted by kt at 7:39 PM
4 Comments:
Running groups can be a great way to find some company to do longer runs with as long as there is a wide variety of runners that run different paces. It took me a long time to work up the courage to join a running group and my running has gone to new levels since doing so.
The salt-tablets really aren't as bad as they sound. Many people also take endurolyte tablets, but if you are going to stop at the marathon distance then you won't need to worry about those kind of things. How does GU sound though? Alright I am off to bed. Keep up the running.
I loved the little house books!!
salt tabs? wow. that's new to me...
keep on there, and don't be afraid to say you're training for a marathon.... life is a marathon, of sorts, and if nothing else, we're all training for that!
but I think you'll get to a 40k as well... :)))
As you know, I used the same book in my trained and I scoffed at the idea of not running to music. If you really love it then do it. I always trained with my radio and then in the marathon I used my coworker's Shuffle. I found that I didn't need the Shuffle at the end of the marathon because I was so concentrated elsewhere, however that thing is so small it didn't really make a difference to me. You do have up your mental game for running a marathon but I think you can do it more ways than the marathon books says to do it. I used it as a loose guide.
LJB
KT give your running club a shot, you might be amazed at the wonderful folks you find there.
I too was apprehensive, I had NEVER run a mile in my life, let alone like doing it. But they were holding a 5K training class in May, so I joined the class and the running club - well sadly the class didn't get enough interest so it got cancelled but they invited me to come run with them on their runs.
I was so worried I am NOT a runner and I didn't want to hold anyone back and our clubs motto is NO ONE RUNS ALONE. They turned out to be the kindest, most wonderful bunch. There were runners of all levels and when one of them at my level didn't show up, the leader for the run stayed behind with me.
The offered another 5K class that started in October and thankfully this one had enough interest and I finally ran my first two 5K's, one on Thanksgiving Day and the other this past Sunday. It was a great experience, the high of crossing that finish line, I'm not sure how to even describe it. I wasn't fast but that didn't matter to me at all, I was so proud that I accomplished something I set out to do and without the guidance of my run clubbers it may not have been possible..
Marathon in my future?? Oh not so sure about that, but I am considering a 190 mile relay race with them in June.
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