well, running 96.20 km the week leading up to this incredible challenge was probably not the best way to taper for such an initiative, then again, tapering has never been in my vocabulary!
the more i run, the better i seem to get. sure the knees are sore, but i am used to it by now. As John Madden once said, you can play hurt, just as long as you are not injured.
well, i ran a total of 421 km in July, yet some how managed to gain 4 pounds! so i certainly hope that this challenge will lead to some serious weight loss.
Marathon 1 of 31 started out at 7.30 am! with the morning off for a doctor's appointment in the neighbouring city of Mount Pearl, this gave me the perfect opportunity to kick things off.
home to doctor presented me with a 14.4 km run southwest through st. john's and into the farm area of brookfield rd, and into mount pearl. i felt fairly sluggish during the first 5 k and went at a very slow pace. things started to pick up for me at the 10 k mark as i realized i was going too slow that i was at risk of being late for the appointment. i picked it up a notch and felt pretty good clocking in at 76.48.
the appointment was on time and was fairly quick. i was back on the road less than 20 minutes later heading back home. i flew out of the gate at a quick pace but started to fatigue at my 20 k mark. by the time i was close to home, i was exhausted, but i decided i wanted to do some laps around the pond to see if i could complete the full 42.2 k before heading back to work. so i did 2 laps of lovely Kent's Pond, but i just couldn't take anymore. the fatigue and knee pain was too much. so after 31 k, i packed it in and walked home for lunch.
after a pizza slice, i was back at work for the afternoon, but not before a 30 minute walk with friend Stephen, who i have been training for weight loss. this 3.2 k walk was not part of my official running count.
i sat at my desk for the afternoon in a state of daze and shock, but managed to be quite productive.
at the end of work, i had a tough decision to make. run more, go for a swim then run more, or go home for a nap and then run more. i went with the run. after a quick snack, i was back out there to do 8 laps around the pond to complete my first of thirty-one 42.2 k runs. ironically enough, i finished feeling even more fresh than when i started the day. i flew around the pond for that last lap at boston-qualifying pace!
i clocked in with a total running time of 3.49.18, which took place over a span of just under 11 hours. this overall pace was faster than i figure i need to go at. the faster the run, the more stress and pain on the knees.
i started to walk home, but the cool newfoundland wind and rain was too much to handle. this forced me to run again to get myself home inside, so technically i had an ultra day, logging a net of 42.70 km.
well, it has been a relaxing evening inside watching tv and doing laundry.
the weather report over the next 5 days calls for cool and cloudy days, ideal for running.
at the end of the day, i stepped on the scale and officially registered a 170 pound weigh-in, for my official August 1 weigh in (up 4 pounds from my July 1 weigh in of 166 pounds).
i hope to drop down to 158 for Sept 1. this is going to be one heck of a challenge but i look forward to proving that it can be done!
until tomorrow,
Jennifer
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment