RUNNING JOURNAL

NEW PERSONAL RECORD!

Today I set two personal records for running!

I feel accomplished.  I set out to do 6.  I have a route that I run that I have provided a screenshot of below.

Each lap is 2 miles.  Since I will go for six I needed to lap it three times. By the time I came to my third lap the notification did not go off to let me know I hit 6 miles.  There was nothing wrong with the app ( I use Nike+ running. Feel free to add me Chris J Evans) I guess I just had more distance to cover to reach the 6 mile mark.  By the time I reached it I had passed my stopping point which I had in my head to believe where I would have been at when I hit the 6 miles.   In order for me to get back to the gym where I was running to I had to turn around and cover more ground. When I stopped the app to notify it I was done running ,I looked and saw I set two new records!

I have two alarms that are set for 6 AM the other at 7 AM.  I snoozed pass the 6 o’clock one until seven.  I was really sleeping good but I knew I had to wake up to get myself ready for this run. After drinking two bottled waters,  I was ready to do my crunches.  I’ve learned that keeping a tight core when you’re running helps out dramatically.  It helps to keep my posture straight so I won’t run slumped over.  There are a lot of mechanics you need to have in place to have a successful run. This is one of them that I found that works best for me.  So I pull my ab ball out and I knock out 1000 crunches.  300 on each oblique & 400 straight ones.  That took about 15 minutes.  I followed these crunches with back raises on the ab ball.  2 sets of 20.

I then stretched my legs as much as possible.  I had one knee on the ground and my other leg straight out with my heel on the ground and toes pointed to the sky.  It’s almost like a split position. This stretch helps my hamstrings and the very top part of my quads leading to my hips.  After a thorough stretch on both legs it was time to go.  Before I left my apartment I drink some juice that I had juiced last night.  I will post that recipe soon.

When I got to the gym I put on my thermal shirt along with my thermal gloves for the run.  On the drive over, I was hugging the weather to determine if I needed it or not.  I’m happy I made the right choice to do it.  I make my way to the stationary bike  for 5 minutes to warm my legs up.

I get outside to begin my run and I’m happy I put this thermal gear on.  It was a chilly 45 degrees at 8:30am this morning.  Headphones on with my workout playlist on blast. Nike + Running app is loaded and it hit the START button, I hear the voice respond saying BEGINNING WORKOUT.   I started off slow.  It normally takes about one mile to get my running stride & breathing together.  I knew I was going to be running for at least an hour so I wanted to conserve my energy.  Before I began my run I packed a 16oz bottle of my freshly brewed GREEN TEA.  I’ve been trying something new when I run.  That’s carry water while I run so when I feel fatigue I can revitalize myself by drinking while running.  This was the first time I packed green tea for my run.

I hit my first mile at 9:50.  I felt I was going slow anyway but I didn’t pressure myself to run any faster.  I’m usually at 9:15/9:30 per mile over these past few weeks.  I knew once I got my rhythm my pace would increase.  So it did on mile two.  I hit it at 9:35 per mile.  Just for clarity, the Nike+Running app will tell you when you hit your mile.  It’ll give you the total minutes at whatever mile you’re on, then it’ll give you the average pace per mile.  At mile number 2, my average pace per mile was 9:35.    I had some great music in my playlist.

This is my workout playlist
via @AppleMusic.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/workout/idpl.efe2edeb9f3f42aa94c94dbc36da4c81

I tend to run to the hi hat of the track.  It establishes my run rhythm.  By the time I got to mile number 3 I was running steady at a 9:35 pace.  I felt like I slowed down, but I didn’t.  My breathing was on point.  The ab crunches paid off going into mile number 4.  I was able to remain stable and keep my head up while running.  I also started to get thirsty like I was low on energy.  I drank a swig of green tea while running.  After about a minute or two I felt my energy kick in.  Mile number 5 I got excited.  I knew I had one more mile left which would take me about nine and a half minutes.  That was the pace I was running at.  I took another swig of my green tea half way through mile number 5 to give me an extra boost.  When I finally hit the 6 mile mark I felt good.  I’ve done 6 and some change last June.  I had enough energy to break my previous record so I went for it.

I came, I saw, I conquered.  A very proud moment in my life.  I can now see how I can do 7 miles.  That may be the goal for next week.  I have to do another 6 miles tomorrow, or Wednesday.  I want to finish this week with running 2 more days.  6 miles per day.  Stay tuned for my next running journal.

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