Monday, February 12, 2007

Making Progress -- a PR on My 1 Mile Run

Good News. I made it to the 7 a.m. run on Saturday despite the temperature being somewhere around 17-22 degrees. Even better news is that I was rewarded for showing up by getting a PR (by 1 second) on my 1 mile time. I know it is a slow, slow, time but for me, it is great: 10:20.
For my December and January timed miles my times were 11:05 and 11:03, so it is a significant improvement. Several factors contributed to the faster time including not having run the night before (for I while I was doing these crazy 3-5 mile Friday night runs, just because that was the only time I could squeeze them in) and not eating breakfast....just grabbing a banana. Another contributing factor was that instead of running the entire mile, like I did for the 11:03 and 11:05 times, I walked several times. Although it is counter-intuitive, walking actually makes me faster. Also (thanks to the temporary JCC membership), I went running 4 times last week -- for a total of 14 miles in one week -- another record for me.
The bad news is that the cold air aggravated my asthma and started having symptoms on the second part of the mile. Three of us on Eagleman/IMFL team have asthma and luckily mine is the least severe. D used a surgical mask to help her warm the air so her lungs wouldn't be aggravated by the cold. And I think both of them remembered to use their inhaler before running. Unfortunately, I forgot.
I tried breathing through my neck gator to warm the air like D's surgical mask but it just made me feel like I was suffocating. Since I didn't have the spacer for my inhaler I decided to wimp out and change my 4 timed half miles to 2 timed half miles. I felt like such quitter for skipping them that I tried to squeeze in a third timed 1/2 mile on the way back to Maramarc...but it was a lost cause...It must have been about 1/4 miles because my time was something like 2:30.
Next Saturday we we bike 60 minutes on the trainer and then run 8 miles. OMG. I've never run that far before. I figure it'll take at least a couple hours. Hope the team is still at Starbucks when I finish.

9 comments:

Nancy Toby said...

You need to banish that s-word from your vocabulary! A PR is a PR and that's well done!!!!

Anonymous said...

I will be right there with you for the 8 miles! I hope you are planning on doing them all with me!? Awesome 1 mile time; great improvement!

Anonymous said...

Great job, Jonah :) Those 7:00 a.m. runs are so tough - let's hope they make us stronger!

Susie Q

Anonymous said...

We will be at SB's to congratulate you on your first 8 miler! You are doing awesome and living your dreams. How many others can say the same?

~Lynn

TriGirl 40 said...

Awesome job on your one mile time! And with breathing issues, no less. You'll do great with the 8 miler - you've done the work - and are more ready than you may think.

Melissa said...

don't beat yourself up over not doing all 4 1/2 miles! you did your best mile ever!!! and it's better to listen to your asthma! i would give you cpr but i am not certified...so...better listen to your body or else!

as for the 8 miler. i will be right there with you. with my bum knee :(

carmen said...

yes
as you read on my blog
i did NONE of the repeats

and WOW
forty plus seconds off your time
thats amazing!

keep up the good work
but dont work too hard
thats a lot of running for the week!

xoxoxo
carm

Anonymous said...

WOW Jonah, taking 40 seconds off your timed mile is incredible!
Don't be so hard on yourself.
You did not quit but did the sensible thing. I have had to stop running many times because I could not breathe. I think you may suprise yourself with how well you do on that 8 mile run.

DeannaL

Anonymous said...

Jonah - you rock! Congrats on your PR! Hapy Valentine's Day :-)

JRo