2.47 babyyyy!!!!

   I am pleased to blog that I had a great run this Friday. After Wednesday's fiasco, I went to the gym in two minds. Mainly, I was fiercely determined, I could not allow this work-out to be a repeat performance of Wednesday; so I was determined to infact surpass my best distance in 20 minutes (2.40 miles). But I was also wary. What if I didn't  even make it to 2 miles again? What if somehow my fitness level had regressed? How long would it take to train and get to 2.5? The worry was there in the back of my mind, but I didn't let it have too much play.

  The determination seemed to win over. While my body was begging me to stop at a little over 10 minutes, my legs were cooperative when I insisted on continuing. I had forgotten how hard it is to overcome the wall sometimes, and that you never break through just once; but instead have to constantly battle the crushing desire to stop with every step. I used the same techniques I blogged about before; positive visualization, attaching other goals to this run to add motivation but this time also just looking into the mirror I was facing and reminding myself that I could do this and that however tiring it seemed now, as soon as I finished my run I'd feel rested almost immediately (as usual). It seemed to work. I did my best distance so far; 2.47 miles, just 3 hundredths of a mile short of my first goal. I was very happy.

 This week I'll concentrate on getting to 2.50 miles and maintaining it until it becomes easier. I'll put in 3 gym work-outs and 1 track work-out if possible. If not, I'll sacrifice one gym work-out in lieu of the track work-out with 'Master Yoda'. I hope all your work-outs are going well too!

I Don't Know What Happened...

  Today I had a discouraging work-out. After a good 3 mile run on Monday, I expected to finally reach my first target; 2.5 miles in 20 minutes. I didn't even come close. At 13 minutes and 1.5 miles, I hit the wall. My leg muscles suddenly got really hot, my knees wanted to buckle, and my feet started to drag dangerously on the treadmill. I tried to stay calm, concentrate on my breathing and visualize making it, but my body wasn't having it. My legs were begging to stop and my lungs were getting no relief from the air I forced down them. Before I knew it, I had pressed the stop button and was looking at my out-of-breathe reflection in disbelief.

  I couldn't believe it. I couldn't understand why I was burning out almost a whole mile short of my usual distance. I tried starting the run again immediately, but I barely lasted a minute before I stopped again. Finally after about 10 minutes break, I did the last mile in 9 minutes. I don't have an explanation for this. I suppose these things happen sometimes to athletes. The runner's equivalent to a footballer's bad practice. So I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. I'll call it a bad day and just remember that I at least completed the distance. I'll see how I do on Friday, hopefully this is just a freak burnout.

  Otherwise I'm pretty happy with my progress. I'm eating better habitually; eating salads as part of my lunch and dinner for the first time in my life. I've also maintained a pretty consistent work-out, faulting only during Spring break and the week before. And I've steadily increased mt distances. Mt goals are thus not too far and hopefully on Friday I'll have great news.

Walking on Sunshine

  The temperature was 72 degrees today. I could hardly believe it. This is my kind of weather; warm but not too hot, a gentle breeze with just the right amount of moisture in the air. I was in heaven.

  A friend of mine told me over lunch today about the route he runs. A 5 kilometer run around the perimeter of campus. I just happened to be a running mood, the weather just happened to be perfect for it and the prescribed route just happened  to be almost exactly the distance I'm running in the gym. I'm not a big believer in coincidence and have little patience for the idea of luck, so I took this not so subtle hint from The Big Guy Upstairs and stole half an hour from my schedule for a hearty run.

  It was a great experience. The first part of the route is even ground bordered by trees and lush green on one or both sides depending on the section you're on. The view is beautiful with none of that pesky snow blanketing the grass. People were riding bikes, playing frisbee, playing football and my fellow runners had returned to the side-walk, unharassed by cold wind and invisible layers of ice on the pavement. Perhaps the best thing about the route is that it runs along the extreme ends of the campus where I would have never thought to venture. That way, I got to explore and get to know a little more about my school.

  I over-indulged though; taking 40 minutes to do an ideally 25 - 30 minute run. But at the very least, I found out that I'm much fitter than I was in January. I had little difficulty during the run and so I'm praying it is similarly warm on Wednesday so I can thrush my initial run-time. Hope you're all enjoying the beautiful weather.

Progress: Now doing a little more than 3 miles outside.

The Week Before Spring Break, what do you expect...

   My Spring Break started a little earlier than everybody else's last week. Due to my grossly underestimating how forward-thinking Penn State students can be, I logged on to the Megabus website to find that all the bus tickets to New York for Friday and Saturday had already sold out. Thus I was forced to leave State College on Thursday morning, effectively missing two days of school and using up ALL my LA101H excused absences in one foul swoop. I'm not complaining though. Chances are I would have spent Thursday and Friday mindlessly copying notes down and trying not to pass-out in my 4.30 pm French 001 class. Instead I got to spend them exploring Manhattan and catching up on much needed sleep before some of my friends come to town. So in the end my negligence turned out to be a blessing in disguise. :)

   Keeping up with my work-outs during the week wasn't so easy tho. With packing and trying to wrap-up all the week's assignments before Wednesday, I only made it to the gym once. On Tuesday I snuck in a work-out and did my best run so far at 2.40 miles in 20 mins. It nearly killed me, seriously. It took all my will power to not call it quits at 10 minutes and I was extremely proud of myself afterwards. Unfortunately, I didn't do so hot the rest of the week and my scheduled gym time was lost somewhere between finishing up my essay in the library and packing. On Sunday, however, I did 20 laps in the NYSC pool which curbed my guilt considerably. 

  I fore-see a mixed performance during Spring break. I'll probably get in at least 3 runs, and given the more forgiving weather up here, I'll do at least 1 run outside. However there's not much hope for my healthy eating regiment. After 2 months of well-meaning but ultimately under-whelming campus-food, I am psyched to once again have access to the great quality and variety of cuisine that perhaps only NY can offer. And I plan to have my fill. ;)

  Have a Great Spring Break everybody. See you in a week or so. 

Progress: 2.40 miles in 20 minutes. Boo-Yah!!!!