The past four days have closely resembled a really bad roller coaster—you know, the ones with grimy seats and questionable seat belts at shady amusement parks. I trust you know what I’m talking about, so I’m going to continue…
Saturday I ran the Awesome Running Challenge 5K. Okay, so it was actually “The Run for the Summit,” but Linden and I adopted it as a race challenge for our friends and invited all of them to run with us. It was raining, so Linden and I were the only ones in our group to come, but I was really proud of my race; I actually felt like I was racing, not just running. Saturday got a smiley face.
Sunday, Linden and I ran our long run as usual. It was supposed to be 8.5 miles but ended up being 9.3 miles. I knew it was going to be rough when we stopped to walk about 20 minutes in; I was exhausted from Saturday—not only had I ran the 5K but I’d also spent the entire afternoon walking the hills and eating the junk food at Silver Dollar City. We walked for most of the long run’s second half, clocking a disappointing 13:00+ pace. Two frowny faces.
Today, Linden and I ran with our friend David, and I felt fantastic, running just over an 11:00 pace. Smiley face.
In between these runs, is where I think the problem lies. I call myself a runner, but I don’t act like it when I’m not running. I eat fried, sugary, and/or processed foods pretty often, especially on the weekends. And I’m not great at getting in all the sleep I need; I’m a night owl, yet I crawl out of bed before 6:30 most mornings (and I know something’s wrong with me when I “sleep in” until only 9:30–used to be sleeping in meant 12:30 or 1).
So tonight I’m ready to make a little resolution to myself. I’m going to start keeping a food diary, making sure that I get carbs and protein in every mini meal every 2–3 hours. I’m also resolving to be in bed lights out at 11:00 every night (yes, that’s still pretty late, but this is about baby steps). I’ll keep you posted…It’s 9:50, and I have to make my lunch, pack my gym bag, and do some reading before 11.
