So last week I couldn't hang with Week 5's expectations. The third day just destroyed me and I couldn't run more than 10 minutes straight. Which is phenomenal, because I ran 20 minutes straight today no problem.
HUGE MILESTONE.
This is the longest continuous time interval I've run in my entire life. I'm pretty confident about that statement.
When I was in New Orleans recently, I ate a TON of the finest, greasiest, tastiest foods they had to offer. I had grilled oysters dipped in garlic and butter that were so incredible I have the urge to fly back to New Orleans just to try them again. And I lost 1 pound while I was there. I AM FLABBERGASTED.
How did I manage to do that? Well I was at a conference. This meant walking around or standing on my feet for hours at a time. But it also meant that I had ample access to free food. And believe me, string cheese, muffins, pizza, and Dr. Pepper is not the best diet in the world. But I prevailed.
And I lost a pound. I know what's going on. My metabolism is working again. For a long time it shut down, and it only caused my depression to gain strength. I now know that whenever I feel slightly depressed, I need to exercise. It makes my mood dramatically improve. It's frightening how dramatic the change can be. Previously, combined with unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle, I was able to stay depressed in a vicious cycle. This was so incredibly dangerous! Now I can run for 20 consecutive minutes! I could not have imagined this six months ago.
I didn't glance at my stopwatch until 13 minutes had elapsed from start. I felt awesome right from the beginning. My legs felt incredibly powerful (I'd never felt what they were doing before) and my breathing was great the entire run. I checked my watch again at 19 minutes and I even tried to run for about 30 seconds near the end, but then my quads started to give out, and I could have fallen if I didn't stop. It was a weird feeling. But my final run time was 20 minutes 12 seconds.
The walk home was the best post-run walk I've had. To say I felt good is an understatement. I'm looking forward to the next long run, but I'm going to start Week 6 mid-week instead. Week 6 will culminate in a 25 minute run.
The rest had a lot to do with my success. By sleeping well and eating OK, I've been able to really build up strength. I've also been doing limited weight lifting and leg lifts to improve my core strength. I have not noticed the effects yet, but I'm sure they're operating.
Week 5 ended on a very disappointing note, but I'm glad I went back and absolutely owned that run. I'm excited to start and polish off Week 6.
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