December 2, 2009

Failure To Blog Due To Embarassment

Yesterday morning I again turned off my alarm. I didnt get into bed until 11 and it was another restless night. Somewhere around 4 I gave up and turned off the alarm. So I went from a stellar run on Saturday to a run-less Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. And though I had time to post on my other blog last night, I didnt have the courage to post on here about another failed attempt at an am run. I was embarassed. And honestly, that is a good thing. I started this blog on 4/14/07 to document my journey to the Chicago Marathon. I'm still doing it a few years later, though the ultimate focus has changed. But the point here is that this blog (in addition to being a forum for all of my whining) has created some sort of accountability for me. If I post that I am going to run tomorrow morning I feel like I have to. Im not sure why. Its not for me ... its for "the blogosphere". Like I have a billion hits and fans or something. I know its the logic behind the concept of writing down your goals. By leaving a physical trace of your goal you create direction and accountability. If I write it on a post-it I can "forget" or "accidentally throw it out". But when I write it on here, even if I delete it ... someone has already seen it. I think I need to work on posting some longer-term goals on here to see if it has the same impact. If this blog can get me to wake up pre-dawn and run maybe it has the power to do even more important things ;)

And the point of this post is that, yes, I did get up at 5AM today and run. YAY!

Running Log
Time:36:36   Distance:3.61mi   Pace:10:03

I set out this morning intending to do about 4 miles, since the suggested run (for the Monday I am still making up for) was 45 minutes. I decided even before I left the house to take the shorter route out to the road, cutting a bit off the run. As I kept running I realized the impact a three-day rest has on me (in addition to the early time). I was tired and sluggish. I cut another little bit off the run. In the end I had a bit over 3.5 miles versus 4, but feel ok with that.

Ran a different route today that I'm not too sure how I feel about. I still only saw one other runner, so there wasnt any more pedestrian traffic than my other route. This one also just didnt feel as safe. Not sure why, perhaps it was just because I was spending too much time thinking of ways to cut it short ;)

Splits:
1 10:38
2 10:17
3 9:44
4 9:07 (pacing)

I think that 9:44 mile is the fastest I have clocked on a mid-week run so far during training. Thats good, especially since I wasnt really feeling it!

8 comments:

Yuk Yuk files said...

You are one brave soul to 1) run at 5am 2) to admit to the whole wide world...
I would just lie... :) :) :)

Tim F said...

I think is awesome that you were able to get up at 5am to run after not getting into bed until 11pm. Great job.

lifestudent said...

Tim ... Maybe I wasnt clear. The night I went to bed at 11 I turned off my alarm (that was Mon night). Last night I went to bed at 9:30 just to make sure I did my 5AM run. I am that lame.

Lisa said...

I totally feel the same way. I started my blog for the same reasons you did. Don't beat yourself up about missing a run here and there. It happens. And yay for running today and a bigger yay for negative splits!!!

Jamie said...

I hear you on the blog holding you accountable. I feel the same way! Like you I need to write some long term goals. Nice job waking up today to get it done!

RunToTheFinish said...

So true I sometimes finish long runs just because I don't want to have to say I didn't!

a couple missed runs happen...but we're here to kick your arse if it happens again

Jess said...

I feel the same accountability with my running and my blog. Sometimes the first thought I have about something that happens to me running-related is, "What will I post about this on my blog?"

Nice job getting up for that early AM run today!

kilax said...

I just do a weekly recap so I don't feel accountable. Isn't that awful?

Great run, you're getting speedy!