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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Back to basics

Believe it or not, I actually have a run to report on. I know--you probably thought that my "running blog" had officially been converted into a "travel blog." But worry not, my friends . . . Irish is back and ready to train!

Last night, I hit the gym and took on my arch nemisis, the treadmill. Ugh. I H-A-T-E the treadmill. I stepped on, and realized I didn't really have a plan for myself. Thus, I decided to hit quick start and see where it would take me. For some reason, as I ran at a relatively easy 9:40 pace, the number 5 kept creeping its way into my head. The problem is . . . I can rarely stand the boredom of running on the treadmill for more than 3 miles. Generally, after passing that magic number, I get so bored I have to stop and stretch . . . or get a drink of water . . . or fix my ponytail. I just HAVE to do something to break the monotony of running in place for an extended period of time.

Well, I decided to test myself last night. I would try to make it to 5 miles without letting the boredom get to me. I cranked up my ipod, turned on CNN to search for typos in the ticker (yes, I am weird enough that I am actually entertained by this activity), and prayed for time to pass as quickly as possible. I ignored the temptress of a treadmill display and just kept on going . . . that is, until I couldn't take it anymore. I just HAD to know how far I'd "traveled." I looked down, noticed I was just under 3.5 miles, and immediately proceded to get the worst side stitch I'd ever experienced. It was ridiculous. I tried to gut it out and get rid of it with some belly breathing, but after several minutes of doing so with no results, I finally gave in. I paused the 'mill, got a drink of water and just generally collected myself for a few minutes.

Finally, I hopped back on and got myself ready to finish out the last mile and a half. The side stitch threatened to come back somewhere right around the 4.5 mile mark, but I gutted it out and forced myself through the last half-mile (during which I could not, for the life of me, take my eyes off of that damn display!). When I was finished, I cooled down with a nice ten minute walk. Even though I'd failed at my mission of completing the 5 miles without any interruptions, I felt pretty good about myself, considering I'd covered five miles at a 9:40 pace on my first run back since the half (unless you count pool running--which I did a couple times in St. John). Amazingly, it felt pretty darn easy, other than the obnoxious side stitch. I definitely breathed a HUGE sigh of relief to know that I haven't lost much fitness over the past two weeks (thank you hiking, swimming and pool-running!)

Tonight, I am participating in the 3.5-mile JPMC Corporate Challenge. I haven't decided whether I'm going to all-out race it or just be social and walk/jog with co-workers. Whatever the case, I'll be sure to share the results after the fact.

Happy running!

6 comments:

EmLit said...

That's funny, I have the same problem on the treadmill--it seems so exhausting to push through the boredom of three miles that I rarely want to do more than that. It takes me being in a magical running zone to be able to do it without getting antsy. Congrats on the run, though!

And thanks for the input about various areas in NYC. I've thought about Inwood/WHeights but have never been up there. It is so much cheaper, though, and I do hear good things...and I'm not totally averse to Brooklyn, just completely unfamiliar with it. Any suggestions about places to look in BK? If I could get a place near the 2/3 I don't think the commute would be so bad...

Rachel said...

Good job on your return run! Evil side stitches! Luckily they haven't showed their face around me in awhile.

Meg said...

Great run! I hate the treadmill display. I always watch it and dread how much more I have to run...

Chris said...

I use to run strictly on the TM. It was always just more convenient for me. Well then I started running outside and now I HATE having to get on that damn machine. I can do an hour, and then I am done.

Maybe if you had a Nike+ your run would have been better! Haha...you notice what I did there? Didn't see it coming didja?

The Laminator said...

Hey Irish...didn't realize you were back from your vacation.

TMs are not for me, but good job toughening it out.

Laura said...

I'm with Chris in that I started running just on the treadmill (however, at that point I was only running 2 miles at a time). Now my magic number is 3 too - I just can NOT do any more. If I can't run outside and have to do the treadmill, I do it in a few shots rather than all one go.