Bad Example, Good Run

The Tardis covered in snow after work Friday

I was initially going to title this blog post Half Marathon Training in the White Room, although only Helix fans would get that reference.  We had another 6 inches of new snow last Friday evening, before our Saturday training run.  I'm beginning to think we will never get out of the White Room. 

But instead, when I thought about all the mistakes I have to confess to, I had to call it Bad Example.  Yet I still ended up with a Good Run, so hopefully this encourages you to get out & do your activity of choice anyway, even if you think you aren't doing it "right".



Mistake # 1: I didn't mentally commit to the run.  After a 2 hour drive home from work on snow covered roads Friday night, I sat watching the news & wavering on whether to go to Blue Mile and run or not.  I finally decided I would get up in the morning & watch the news again to see the road conditions before I decided.  Bad Teresa.  I didn't go to bed in the right frame of mind, and I didn't wake up in the right frame of mind, which I am pretty sure led to all my other mistakes.

Mistake # 2: Because I was not sure if I was going, I didn't set my clothes & gear out the night before like I usually do.  Bad Teresa.  After going downstairs in the morning, I had to go back up 4 times for things I'd forgotten.  Poor Kevin - I know I kept waking him up even though I tried to be quiet.

Mistake # 3: I dawdled around so long deciding whether to go that I didn't have time for my usual breakfast.  Bad Teresa.  If I was going to sit watching the news, I could've at least been eating while I did that.  I ended up eating a peanut butter sandwich in the car on the way to Blue Mile - not horrible but not what I usually eat on a run morning.  I could've ended up with an upset stomach or not enough fuel to keep me going.

Mistake # 4: This is the worst one - it's so ridiculous I hate to even say it.  I forgot my shoes.  Bad bad bad Teresa.  Now if you know me in real life, you probably think that means I showed up barefoot.  I do have a tendency to do that when the weather's nice.  But I actually had my snow boots on.  I had to go out and move Josh's car before I could pull mine out of the garage, and since we had 6 more inches of snow late Friday, the driveway wasn't shoveled yet.  I didn't want to walk out in that deep snow in my running shoes and get my feet all wet, so I took them off & put my snow boots on.  I intended to put the running shoes in my car and change when I got to Blue Mile, but I didn't follow through.  I have no excuse - I was just frazzled from all my other mistakes so far and from being out of my routine. 

My Blue Mile running shirt!

So now you are wondering: how was it still a good run?  Halfway there when I realized I'd forgotten my shoes, I thought I would just walk for 60 minutes in my boots - better than nothing, right?  So I didn't even think I would get to run.  But Sarah had the brilliant suggestion to ask the staff there at Blue Mile if they had any shoes they could loan me.  And sure enough - they had a pair of Mizunos that I could use.  They were 8.5 when I usually wear 8, but with extra winter layers they still worked fine. 

Crane in the White River by the Monon Trail

Another thing that made it good was the condition of the Monon Trail.  I've said it before but it bears repeating: major props to the City of Indianapolis for keeping the Monon cleared & salted.  There was about one-half inch of slush on the trail, but after 6 inches of new snow less than 12 hours before, that's still pretty good.

So running in the slush in borrowed shoes one-half size too big, I ran 5.5 miles in 64 minutes at an average speed of 5.1 mph.  I'm extremely pleased with that.  I felt great - I can really tell that I'm getting stronger every week.  I think my goal of a sub-30 minute 5K this year is definitely within reach.

After the run, we had someone from St. Vincent's Sports Medicine talk to us about injury prevention.  He showed us how to foam roll.  I will write another blog post about that, but for now I just have to say it is not at all what I thought it was.  Laura thinks I'm weird now for liking it, but I also like stretching, so it's not that surprising.

I know I can't be the only one to make all these mistakes yet still have a good run.  Anyone want to confess how you goofed up?  Feel free to leave us a comment - no judging here!