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| So true |
Of course, by Tuesday I was excited to resume my tradition of meeting Lily for a brick workout on the BWI trail. We did a 15 mile bike ride and 30 minute run. Wednesday morning, I met Mike for five miles at Loch Raven, to do the ultimate hill training, or in our case, catch up while running slowly up some hills. The views don't hurt.
When I got back I logged on to Facebook to discover it was National Running Day, so, consider that checked off.
This morning, I did seven easy miles. I was honestly dreading this run, until I made the executive decision to leave my Garmin at home, and then I started looking forward to it. I know, it's shocking - I did a run with NO electronics. Insane.
It's really because I have such a love/hate relationship with Daily Mile. Who doesn't love signing in after one of those super great runs where you were extra speedy without even trying and proudly posting your stats? But I knew today wasn't about to be one of those days, and sometimes I just can't handle the shame of posting yet another slow run.
I know, no one really cares how fast or slow I run. But it stresses me out way more than is necessary. I'll spend the entire run staring at my Garmin, constructing excuses in my head, and feeling terrible about myself and the embarrassment of having to make my pathetic run public. Actually, now I'm embarrassed to even admit that, but that's how I roll.
Running isn't easy for me. Oh wait, just kidding, it's not easy for anyone, because it's running. If it is easy for someone who is reading this, please correct me. I love setting new PRs, I love the feeling of leaving the track after a hard workout, but I also love runs like the one I did on Wednesday morning where I was just taking in some pretty views while chatting with a friend. I'm so not one of those people that hates to run slow, and I really don't feel like obsessing about my pace during every single run. Sure, I'll do speedwork during training, and at that point, I'll try to hit certain paces, and it will make sense to be upset if I don't hit them. But right now, I'm just running for good times and to stay in shape, so maybe I should take a break from the Garmin. Or even Daily Mile?
This post got a little more intense than I intended....I'll blame my stress over trying to write a research paper on top of report cards and all the other end of the school year crap I'm worried about. That sounds like a good excuse.
Does anyone obsess over their pace as much as I do, or am I just crazy?
My running buddy, Chaz, is taking three months off from his Garmin and then will start using it again when marathon training starts. Maybe you should just take a break for the next couple of weeks while it doesn't really matter how far/fast you run.
ReplyDeleteI've started not paying attention to my garmin as much. I think it helps that it is literally never right for pace or distance, so I just ignore it and end up using it for time at the end of the day.
I feel very similar to you in all aspects. I beat myself up a lot if I have a slow run. I used to run by HR and now I got sick of wearing the HR monitor so I just run by pace and I am stressed over it. I feel like SUCH a slow runner. I feel like I should be faster but when I push faster, I can barely go far at all without feeling like I can't breath. I find myself very envious of naturally faster runners. It just isn't me and I really do have to work so hard. I also agree that no matter what, running is hard. I think that's why I keep coming back though. I feel like I should be able to master it, yet I don't. I have never ran with a person though....I need to really get out on group runs but they aren't at the most convenient times for me.
ReplyDeleteI haven't posted a time for a run on Daily Mile in months and you know what? I still enjoy the site just as much. I used to keep track of my mileage in Excel and never entered time and I enjoyed that a lot, so I figure that's the way to treat Daily Mile.
ReplyDeleteBesides, we all know you can run super fast when you race, so who cares how fast your Wednesday training run happened to be? We all know that training at a too fast pace just makes people get injured and/or burnt out.
Smart woman. Wednesday AM recovery run is not a competition.
DeleteOh, and also? I only use my Garmin once a week and only if I'm running in a different place than usual. Otherwise, I just know the distance and leave it at home. The only reason I really take it with me at this point is to know when to turn around and head back home :)
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone. I started tracking time instead of mileage because I am depressingly slow right now (coming back from a long break due to stress fractures). These days I'm wearing a heart rate monitor instead of a GPS watch. Do what that crazy pregnant lady does and don't enter your time on DM if you feel ashamed. I'm sure not too many people are judging you.
ReplyDeleteYou're not alone. I had to reset my Garmin so it only shows distance, total time and time of day. I can’t handle the constant flow of information. Every time I would look down, I’d either freak out b/c I was running too fast or too slow. Honestly, I think going without is a good call. It teaches you to really feel what is a good hard or easy pace for YOU without the electronic judgment.
ReplyDeleteAnd really, you aren’t slow. I was just thinking this morning about how slow I’m going to be in Baltimore…and how I’ll end up embarrassed when you and Eric have to wait for me to finish. ;)
This is probably the number one reason I don't have a Garmin. I know I would always be obsessed with how fast or how slow I was going. Sometimes the runs I am most proud of myself for are the runs that are the most difficult to motivate myself to do or for the ones where I successfully convince myself to keep going even though I feel like crap and want to quit.
ReplyDeleteI deleted my DailyMile account over a year ago. I was a little obsessed with pace and such when I was tracking there. I wear my Garmin on most runs, but a few I don't, I mostly use it for distance and try to avoid looking at the pace. Of course, I've never really done speedwork or anything either though, running at my happy pace seems to keep me happy!
ReplyDeleteThe reason I haven't really been posting many workouts on DailyMile is for this exact reason! At first I thought it was a great way to get some moral support but it ended up being me becoming paranoid about what people will think about my pace, mileage, etc. I'm actually considering deleting my account. But I haven't decided.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a little too focused on my Garmin - with the exception of trail runs. I still keep track of it, but I just switch it to show the time and then at the end stop it. I think too much treadmill running has programmed me to be obsessed with the pace.
ReplyDeleteAs for Daily Mile - I don't think anyone cares as much about my pace as I do! The "great run!" comments are there if I do speedy runs or walk/jogs.
Usually 1x/week I go out for an easy or recovery run without a Garmin; I'll go with a watch and run for time. I log a "distance guess" which doesn't mean squat and I know it.
ReplyDeleteI mean when did gps watches come out? 5 years ago? Haven't people been training for and running races for decades before that?
I can be obsessive too, but I'm way slower than you! :)
ReplyDeleteHope the research paper is going well! I'm slow compared to most other people and it doesn't really bother me when I have a pathetic run and post it on Daily Mile but I really only use DM for tracking workouts for me to look at later. I track every run but often I have to guess at the distance and time if it's just a fun run around the neighborhood with Allan and/or the dogs.
ReplyDelete