Last night's run: walk 5 minutes, run 3 walk 1 for 20 minutes, walk 5 minutes.
It was the first time running completely pooch-free, and the first 5 walking minutes seemed to be over well before they began. Despite how good I had felt on my last run, this one was almost immediately tougher. How is that one minute of walking is done in a snap and an extra minute or running is the most tortuous thing in the world? Maybe it's because there had been a little reception at school (it was "Psychology Day", where the department celebrates the end of the term and hands out a few awards, etc.,), and I had a few nibblies before the run... My mouth was dry for nearly the entire time outside, and I guess I've gotta start carrying a water bottle with me.
Essentially, while we did all 5 running sets, I ended up pussing out of the last 30 seconds in the final set. We had just run over a deceptively hilly school park, and were ending on an uphill battle. My legs were burning, as were my lungs, and I was cursing Tony for agreeing to this stupid endeavour in the first place. I felt defeated when I quit 30-s from the end, but quickly vowed that when we run on Saturday, we'll do this training schedule again, and I'll do the whole thing. I definitely have to be comfortable with this before we bump up to 5-min of running consecutively (which, hey! there's a mini goal reached!).
I felt unfocused during my run yesterday. There were a few very brief moments where I felt like I was zoning out and my body was light and propelled by its own momentum, but they were not as long-lasting as I need them to be. As the summer draws closer, these runs will only get more difficult, and I will probably have to buckle and buy some shorts to run in as the leggings (I know! But they're strictly for work out purposes) just won't cut it. Too restrictive and sweaty. At the assembly at work today, they handed out a new award for excellence in graduate student research... and Jenn and Mike co-won it. I was shocked and angered, for a multitude of reasons, but I guess part of my anger (and then oddly my consolation) came from the realization that they won the award because of how much they have achieved together and how well they work as a team (they work on all projects together). It was clear to me that Jenn only won the award because of Mike; he really does all of the difficult elements of their projects (like the modeling and coding of simulations, and just programming in general). I don't deny Jenn contributes, but I do believe that while Mike could readily do the work she does, she could never accomplish what he has. My ire was stoked once more when I realized that they also received the most nominations simply because they both have (the same) two advisors, and many of the achievements that Isabel listed for them were things that she herself had complete jurisdiction over. For instance, one of the awards they mentioned was something specific to a close-conference that is attended by only 5 labs, and is for an organization Isabel founded. It's no giving a talk at VSS (an international, peer-reviewed, open submission conference) is all I'm saying. The research award they won was accompanied by a $250 cheque, but this time rather than being even angrier, I reminded myself that hey, it's $250, not say 21k/year like my NSERC!
Anyway, I didn't want to be bitter and angry, but I was hoping I could channel my frustration into a good run, which I ultimately kind of didn't. Ranting about my anger towards Jenn is probably the topic for my other blog, but it was annoying that I can't manage to get anything good out of it!
We came home completely exhausted (and me feeling a little bit defeated). I just really did not enjoy the run at all, finding it painful and arduous. If nothing else, however, it does help control my appetite, as we didn't wind up eating until about 8:30, and then it was a light meal of parmesan encrusted chicken with a potato salad featuring a hint of mint. Delicious and not too heavy, with some great leftovers for today's lunch!
Next run: REPEAT. 5 min walk, run 3 min walk 1 min for 20 min, walk 5 min.
5 comments:
Hey Steph,
Pursuant to an earlier comment about your calves hurting (which i thought i'd post here to make sure that you'd see it): i don't really have any suggestions for what you're doing during your run, but i do know a strengthening exercise you can do when you're at home.
You stand with the ball of your feet on the edge of a stair and your heels hanging over the edge [Umm, come to think of it you probably don't have any stairs in your apartment, so maybe use a sturdy box?] Then you gradually rise up on tippy-toe, hold for a bit, the lower back down until your feet are back to regular position (ie, like on the horizontal plane). Eventually you can start dipping your heels below the level of the stair where your toes are at, but i would not suggest starting directly with this as it may be too painful/stressful at first.
Hope this helps!
Ooh! Sounds good! You're right that we don't have stairs in our place, BUT our complex has many outdoor sets of stairs, so they're convenient enough for me to get at. I'll definitely try this out. I have no idea what I did on Thursday (was it the running on uneven terrain?), but my left leg (knee down) did not stop hurting until today...
Running on uneven terrain wouldn't have done that, not the least because there's no good reason why it would only affect one of your legs. Running on less stable terrain (like, gravel vs. asphalt) tends to impact you more at the level of your hips, as you try to stabilize yourself -- think about how you walk differently over ice or packed snow... then be thankful that uneven terrain isn't half as bad as those!
ps: still bitter about the winters here in Montreal, yup yup.
Oh running guru, you're so wise!
Steph, please thank your friend Taryn for the stretching suggestion. It is going to work miracles for my super-tight calves!
I have had bad runs where I felt off and while you feel the the run did not help with the stress, I have to say that at least it may have lessened it. I think that running has helped me cope with my stress better. I hope it helps you, too!
I am TERRIFIED about the shorts I will soon have to wear.
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