Progress

One of my favorite things about running is seeing by body improve, and being able to do things that I didn't think I was able to do.

It's been a pretty discouraging few weeks, because I've been in constant pain, and I haven't had improvement in distance or speed.  Well I accidentally took too many rest days this week, and I was really itching to push myself today.  I decided to do an almost-four mile stretch of scenic canal by my workplace that, for some reason, I've never done great on before.

Now, I ran this course three days ago, and I barely hit a 10:00 pace. Not only that, I couldn't even finish.  I just wasn't mentally with it, and I was practically kicking myself afterwards for being "too weak".

Well, today was much better.

Here were my splits:

Mile 1: 8:39
Mile 2: 9:07
Mile 3: 9:38 (with a shoe tying break)
Mile 3.8: 9:41

Avg. Pace: 9:15

Not too bad!  It was actually faster than my 5k pace, and there was a fairly strong headwind.  It was a hard run, but not horribly uncomfortable by any means. The calf issues I've been having didn't bother me at all. Afterwards, I didn't feel nauseous or faint, just accomplished and little tired, which is exactly how I like to end a run :)

I learned a couple things today.  First is that not every run has to be better than the last.  If I do have a bad run, I don't have to worry about, or be afraid that I'm "regressing".  There will always be a better run around the corner, just as long as I keep training.  And second, rest days really are important.  I've been struggling with pain in my calf for weeks, but after taking a few rest days (maybe more than a few) and a few short runs in between, I feel almost as good as new.  I'm ready to keep making progress.