Day 153: Sprinting

So, as many of you know, I'm training for a 10K. "Training" is actually a loose term, because mostly it involves me going to the treadmill to run for as long as I can before I get bored (~20 minutes), feeling bad about quitting before I really needed to, pretending I care again, and running for another 10-15 minutes to appease myself. By that time, I've hit about 3.5ish miles and I say to myself "I'm quitting while I still feel good. I'll hit 4 tomorrow, and then 5 the next day." And then in my brain, 6 miles of running seems a completely attainable goal! I'm only 3 days away...even though I've only ever run half of the goal distance.

Another thing to know--I run about as pathetically slowly as one can run to keep moving forward. It's 5.5 mph on the treadmill (an 11 minute mile, that a really tall guy could walk in the same amount of time), and I'm pretty convinced that's about my pace when I run outside too.

I blame this all on the fact that I NEVER ran growing up and I'm pretty sure I don't know how. Running for me is extremely awkward and a sort of joggy-hoppy-walky concoction of motion--none of this "Finding my Stride" stuff. I just never learned how to do it growing up in sports (I was a ballet dancer), and from the fact that there is no legitimate reason that humans ever have to run anymore, I just don't know how.

I digress.

Anyway. Day 153's thing emerged on the treadmill, when I was going through my normal routine. I ran 2 miles, crapped out and walked for five minutes, ran another 1.5 miles, crapped out and walked for a second, and then...instead of walking away and wishing I'd make it to 4 tomorrow, I turned that puppy up to 6 mph and I did, what was for me, a SPRINT to round out my 4 miles. My "sprint" only lasted a half a mile, but I was sweaty and fulfilled and I felt like I had pushed myself and "trained" for the very first time.