I think I read somewhere that the first two weeks of any training is the toughest and when most people quit. Well, I’m two weeks in and pumped!

Monday I was on the treadmill ready to tackle some “hills”. I’ve never done hill intervals on the treadmill and really didn’t know what I was doing but decided I’d just click on the hill interval button and go at it. I started at cool 9:40 pace and was feeling good. Then I felt the treadmill move. At first it wasn’t too bad of a change but then I started to see the incline percentage climb and I was shocked at how different it felt to be running up for what to me seemed like a long time. Since it was new to me, and I get excited about new things, I went for it and stayed at my 9:40 pace. I could feel sweat dripping from my face and my shirt start to cling to my body. I could feel the girl on the treadmill next to me staring. I could feel my heart pumping away. I. Felt. Awesome.

I love, love, love feeling like I’m getting a good workout it. At the end, I completed 3 miles in 28:46 with a 9:34/mile pace. I had climbed 371 ft.

Wednesday I met up with my run club at a local track. I was looking forward to what was on the agenda. I love the start of the workouts; everyone gathers around and shares their race stories from the previous weekend and show off their medals. Then Jim, the leader of the group, asks about any new sign ups. There were 6 who said they’d signed up for an Ironman! It’s so inspiring to be around talented people but also people who are there simply because they love running.

Jim had us doing a ladder exercise where we’d run 400m, then 800, then 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400. After each set, we’d walk for just a little bit and then get back at it. I made sure to run at a challenging but doable pace and stick to it. I wanted to maintain some sort of consistency. It turns out that I was feeling so good around an 8:25 pace! I couldn’t believe my watch when I’d check on it every now and again that it was showing me eights! I ended the workout at 3.2 miles in 28:02 with an 8:45 min/mile pace. I had run my fastest mile in 8:08!

I didn’t complete the full exercise, leaving after the second 1200m. I had to go pick up pizza : )

The next day, Thursday, I had four miles on my schedule. This would be a treadmill run. For some reason, I had a premonition this would not be a good run. I think I felt I had had two really good workouts that there wasn’t a chance it could be three in a row.

Sure enough, as soon as I got on the treadmill I could feel my shins flare up. The first two miles were absolutely awful. I stopped it once I reached the two mile mark and used the rest room and stretched my legs. I talked myself into going back and finishing—the schedule said four miles.

I mustered up whatever energy and motivation I had and finished. It ended up being not as bad as I thought at 38:31, around a 9:35 pace.

Today, Saturday, was long run day. My alarm went off at 5:15 and off I went to meet my run club to start our 6 a.m. run. It was raining this morning and it had been a long time that I had run in the rain. I started the first mile talking to Jim so I had my ear phones tucked away. At mile two we drifted apart and I decided that it was so beautiful out hearing the rain fall and the breeze that I wasn’t going to put my ear phones back on. (I have a lot more to say about this later) I realized I hadn’t looked at my watch the entire time I talked to Jim but I felt great and that’s what mattered. I could feel my shins but it was more soreness than sharp pain.

I kept going.

I couldn’t believe how good I felt. I was almost afraid to increase my pace. When I reached mile three, the turnaround point for me, I decided that in the second half of my run I’d go a little a faster. I slowly increased my pace and finished off the run at 59:27 with a 9:54 min/mi pace. I loved that I finished in under an hour and I actually loved my splits:

That first mile talking to Jim allowed me to have enough endurance to finish strong and while it was a lot slower than what I usually do, because of that start I felt I could have kept going at the end.

Overall, this was a great week for me. I still worry about my shins but today’s run raised my spirits and I’m looking forward to next week. I’ve got a Turkey Trot 5k on Thanksgiving! : )

–Do you like running hills?

–What is your comfort pace?

–Do you run through pain?