Tuesday, November 23, 2010

An obsession begins.



I can definitely foresee an obsession happening between me and my Garmin.  I ran with it today and O.M.G... it was awesome.  BUT... I can see how I am going to get obsessive when running with it.  You see, I am very competitive with myself.  I figured that out a loooooong time ago when I was brand new to running and I would run with a watch.  I had a route that I ran almost daily in Santa Monica and I knew the mileage markers by heart.  From home to the California Incline = 1 mile.  From the Incline to the PCH pedestrian underpass = 2 miles.  From the pedestrian underpass to San Vicente and 10th Street = 3 miles. You get the idea.  So, like any runner, I would have days where I felt WAAAAY FAAAAAAST and then days I felt like my legs were slow cement blocks.  Of course being the young and naive runner that I was I only focused on how long it took me to get to each mile marker... not how my body was feeling on that particular day (silly young runner).  I would get so upset with myself when I would have 'slow' days... it irked me beyond belief.  After honing my running skills with the Santa Monica College cross country team for a few years I learned the valuable lesson of varied training... long runs, short and fast runs, recovery runs, and, of course the most important part of training... rest days.  I learned to listen to my body and to not beat myself up mentally if I wasn't meeting my sometimes unrealistic expectations.

Today's run was great... but I was definitely focusing on the miles-per-minute feature of the Garmin.  I chalk that up to being excited about my new toy and wanting to see all of it's bells and whistles in action.  Here's the thing that I've learned in my 12+ years of running... I need to continue to be honest with myself and my training, knowing that I won't be running 7:20 minute miles every day that I run.  Today I ran my favorite hilly loop thru the Aves, up Terrace Hills (soooooo steep!) and then zig-zagged back down to City Creek for a sweet and gentle downhill finish.  During the uphills I was running a 10+ minute mile (hey, they're STEEP!) but once I got onto the flat and downhill sections I felt that competitive spirit and worked my way down to a pretty comfortable 7:30 minute mile for a few miles... and then when I knew I was close to home... I ran a 7:08 for the last mile.  Man, it felt good.  What I know I'll love about the Garmin 405 is that it will keep me accountable for my runs... so many times I head out the door for a run and then I meander and walk and take breaks... which is fine every once in awhile but I found that was happening to me more often than not.  Here's to hoping I don't become a complete lunatic with my new toy!

Garmin stats: 7.18 miles/59 minutes. Upper Avenues hilly run. Warm before the storm!

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