Wow. I woke up today with one thought: sheesh, I planned on doing speedwork today. Hills. Ugh.
The thought of tackling a hill over and over (and over and over… and so on) again, after the speedy 4 miles on a treadmill Thursday evening, and the long slow slog of 6.5 miles Friday, made the idea of hill work today unbearable. And yet, and yet… I want to challenge myself I want to push past the 20-miles per week and the 6-mile limit and the 10:00-11:00 pace of the past. Want to be really prepared and in peak condition for my 10K in a couple of weeks. And that takes effort.
I went out to breakfast, I puttered around the house, and I finally came to a decision. I would run, I would run 5 miles… but I’m not taking my watch. I’m not timing myself, I’m not going to worry if I’m going too slow or too fast, I’m just going to go out and log a no-stress five-miler.
Decided to use my new, alternate, 5-mile loop, just because. Unfortunately, even though it wasn’t yet 80 degrees when I left, it felt much hotter due to the conspicuous lack of shade along much of the route. But since I’d given myself permission to be slow, it wasn’t too bad, and I managed to finish the last mile strong.
But, man-oh-man, I am taking a rest day tomorrow. I am resting the hell out of tomorrow!
Maybe I’ll go to the gym and soak in the sauna. That’d be nice.