Week 12, Sunday - Like a Tank

I'm incredibly proud of myself for going on a short run yesterday after working all night and getting paltry sleep afterward. I went over to the track at the high school and ran about a mile and half. It was only about half of what I wanted to do, and I did take a couple of short walking breaks but, considering the hiatus and circumstances, I was glad I even got there. The track was amazingly springy. It was a wonderful surface to run on though I found the circling a bit repetitive.

I find that on the treadmill, I can tune out of my surroundings and sink into the feelings of running. I don't need to look at my feet and I don't get distracted by anything in the room. Outside, I have a nasty streak of ADD. On the trail, my eyes follow cardinals, look at the ground, turn to make sure no one is following me, watch the backyard gardeners, judge how far I am from the next person, check my feet again. On the track, I found myself constantly looking to see where and how I was stepping, trying to dodge goose poo, wondering if I could see if I was heel landing or landing mid-foot, checking to make sure I wasn't heading out of my little path and so on. At this point, as much as I love the breeze and freedom of running outside, it's really nice to tune out and feel faster inside.

The need to feel faster is an issue for me. I know I'm not competing with anyone (hell, right now my biggest competition is the desire to sit on my ass). On the treadmill, I can see actual numbers and push myself to go a bit faster while knowing just about how far I can go before something starts to hurt. Nothing around me moves and so I don't have any concept of how fast things should move at 5mph, faster or slower. Outside I feel like a snail. The fact that things move by so slowly is an insult. I want to go faster but don't feel like I can. It's the most frustrating aspect of switching to running outside. To top it all off, moving so slowly makes me feel like a lumbering tank. I see other runners and they look strong and fleet and I feel like I could topple and roll at any second.

Best news? My shins didn't hurt. And I feel good - better than I have in a couple of weeks.


1.5 miles outside on track