The Honest Mother Runner: Carmel Week 13: To Watch or Not to Watch?

To Watch or Not to Watch?

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...that is the question.

Priorities. Moving into our new home on Saturday.

I've always been intrigued by stories about runners who go watchless and run these kick ass marathons and half marathons. Something in me has always been too fearful about doing it. I've become great at it this training cycle, but have yet to do it for a big race. I mean, I train MONTHS for ONE DAY.

I was discussing this in detail with my friend, Britt. She's historically a watchless runner...and a REALLY amazing and fast runner. I was telling her that I feared starting too fast and bonking.

This had me rolling a bit. To clear some confusion, I'm number three.

She helped me to see it in another way. I could potentially be holding myself back by focusing so much on a specific pace. If I'm being honest, I really have nothing to lose. Even though my ultimate goal is to BQ, I have relaxed a bit about when it happens. I don't want that ultimate goal to suck the fun out of running. With that being said, I'm seriously considering the no watch thing for Carmel.

2/19: 5.12 miles, 9:14/mile; Chest/Back, 30 minutes. My Achilles has been better, but was still just a tad tender this morning. Once again, I opted to skip hill surges to be safe. I'm confident I can pick them back up next week. I met Sarah and Elizabeth at the dam for a short loop. It was enough to start my Monday off on a positive note.

The Monday crew. [Sarah, ME, Elizabeth]
2/20: 10.49 miles, 8:22/mile; PNF/Shoulders, 30 minutes. Finally, a chance to practice marathon pace miles without 80 degrees, humidity and Achilles pain! Workout: 2 miles warm up, 40 minutes MP, 5 minutes "fun fast," 15 minutes MP, 1 mile cool down. I knew I needed to start before 5 a.m. to get this workout finished in time to get the kids up. I was hoping for 4:45 a.m. I also knew I wouldn't wake up that early to do a workout by myself. My friend, Beth, also needed to start early, but her early was 4:15! YIKES. I decided, since she was willing enough to help me out, I would suck it up and meet her at that time. I am so thankful for her! I set my alarm for 3:40 and had very little difficulty getting up. I sent Beth a message saying something along the lines of "Are we going to make this happen?!" Of course, part of me wanted to keep sleeping. She had a track workout, so we met for a road warm up followed by lots of ovals. When B finished her workout, I made my way back to the road to finish up solo. It was a rough start. My legs seemed fatigued. When I reached the halfway point, I finally felt like it was easy (further proving that my body requires a LONG warm up).

This girl is a gem...really, she is one of the kindest souls I've ever met. [ME, Beth]

I wish my "fun fast" had been faster, but I was pretty close for my MP miles.
2/21: 7 miles, 8:59/mile. I must have been worn out from waking up so early the previous morning. I couldn't will myself to get out of bed. I decided to go to the gym for some easy treadmill miles after work. It was a very pleasant run and went by fast. Dare I say I don't hate the treadmill?

I really do love hugs. A simple hug can change how someone feels and turn their day around. I received a hug right when I needed it on this day.
2/22: Yoga, 45 minutes. I took my mat to the gym for a Yoga for Runners video I found on YouTube.

I'm doing a pincha challenge on IG. I'm getting stronger as it progresses. I still have to use the wall to get up, but I'm starting to hold it longer!
2/23: 22 miles, 9:01/mile. I was excited about the thought of 22 miles (did I just say that out loud), but I was not motivated to run this morning. The forecast showed anywhere from 95-100% chance of rain and mid 40s for temp. Not particularly ideal, in my opinion. I hated the thought of being wet for 3 1/2 hours...while running. When I set off, it was a light rain...totally doable. I was even able to avoid getting my shoes wet in the puddles! It didn't take long for the rain to start coming down harder. UGH. I was soaked. At this point, I just had fun and intentionally splashed around. I had no specific route in mind, but knew I wanted to make my way to my new stomping grounds. I started from my house and went to the Harrison Pond neighborhood via Creekside, Hamilton, and Rose Run. After running all the way down Harrison Pond Drive, I checked out Hannah Park. I realized I was about to hit the half way point, so I decided to just do and out and back. That way, I didn't have to think about my route. I also wouldn't have to worry about running too far or too short. Despite the rain, it was a pleasant run. I felt good overall, fueled well, and was surprised with a great average pace...especially for running solo for that long.

Bam! 22 miles!
2/24: 5 miles, 9:36/mile; Bis/Tris/Stability, 50 minutes. I think you can see in my average that my legs were tired after yesterday! They didn't feel fatigued in the moment, but obviously they were. I did feel my Achilles a bit. It didn't bother me during my long run, but I felt it later that evening. Hopefully a day of rest will bring it back to normal. I met Chris and Jessie in the beginning of there long run to join them for half of my run. I then set off into the silence of a Gahanna Saturday morning. It was the most pleasant silence. Just me, God, and my thoughts. There are so many things on my mind lately, and I really needed this time. Later that morning, we had family time at The Y. My kids love going to child watch! LOL. Works out well for me.

My favorite post run pastime.

No wall support for a couple of seconds! I was proud of this one.
2/25: 3.58 miles, 18:06/mile. Mission: Get Baby Out of Meg's Belly. FAIL. It's still in there. We did enjoy another nice Sunday morning walk with Sophie (my Australian Shepherd).

My buddy. I love our walks. [Meg, ME]