Hi all! Phew – I’ve been a little MIA lately for various reason: busy, semi-sick and more busy. When I last left you, I’d have my coughing attack on the subway. I’ve started feeling much better in the past two days, but I still have this itchy dry throat feeling that really gets me coughing. It seems to be worse at night. Last night was especially bad when I went to bed. I’m thinking post-nasal drip? (Eww isn’t that the worst name for it ever?)
Anyway – enough about my coughing problems! I’m hoping they will fade away soon. I think a lot of it has to do with allergies. I took another rest day on Wednesday because I still wasn’t feeling hot. But then last night, I got my butt back out there running. I was excited to run after my short two-day hiatus.
Do you ever find taking a mini break rejuvenates you and makes you appreciate your runs more?
I headed out for a nice run after work last night – the weather was fabulous. Not fabulous: my Garmin trying to locate satellites. I think after its little freezing glitch on Sunday, Garms was a little out of wack. I stood around waiting for it to locate satellites for a solid 10 minutes before I decided the heck with it! I needed to get out there and had a decent idea of the distance, so I told myself I’d starts Garms whenever it was ready.
I also put myself to a little test last night. Since Garms was having issues anyway, I decided to run at whatever pace felt good and comfortable and then I’d check my pace only after I got home (once Garms started working anyway).
Garms finally located those darn satellites after about 1.25 miles, so I pressed start and then firmly averted my eyes and refused to look at Garms again until the end. This was to be my true test of what pace I think I could potentially maintain during the marathon. Here are my stats from mile 1.25+ on.
Mile 1 – 8:24
Mile 2 – 8:25
Mile 3 – 8:14
Mile 4 – 8:39
Mile 5 – 8:13
.65 – 5:46
Total Garmin mileage – 5.65 miles in 47:43. Average pace – 8:27 minute miles. In total, I estimate that I ran 6.65 miles.
And I can certainly live with those times/pace for my marathon. I think this was a good test to put myself through. Sometimes I feel like I rely on my Garmin too much and wonder if I’m only running faster because I’m watching my pace or if I’m really comfortable at that pace.
If you have a Garmin, do you ever run without it? Do you ever feel like it’s dictating your runs too much?
I think a break here and there is good, so you can appreciate the run for how it makes you feel, rather than how fast you ran it.
Before I sign off, I’ll leave you with this gem of a photo from the More Magazine Half Marathon on Sunday. I’m looking pretty fab:
It’s okay to be jealous! Hahaha. What’s with my face? I look totally bored! Also – you can definitely notice that I have a tiny pea-sized-head in this picture because my hat is completely overwhelming me. No clue at what point in the race this was taken. But I love the water on the ground – proves it was realllly raining.
Alright all – have a fantastic weekend! I’m headed upstate for a wedding and am super excited. It’s going to be gorgeous – 85 degrees. Happy wedding weekend to Jenny and Kevin!!
Eat, Read, Run 
Haha! Ever since I got my Garmin I feel like I’m trying to impress it when I run. I look at it constantly and find that I run faster than I thought I was running before acquiring it. Sometimes I run sub 8 minute miles and think “no way!”
I think I will try your trick of not looking at it until my run is over. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow before the wedding!
See you soon!
It was a really good experiment because i felt like I was going a lot slower than I actually was. Garmin is the best trainer I’ve ever had though!
Is that really Lindsey under than hat????
Yup – tis me hidden under there!
I don’t actually use a Garmin – in fact, sometimes I leave my watch home, especially before a race. I kind of like to see how I pace myself. Actually, I just got my stopwatch last year; It give a good general idea of how I’m doing. I do think a Garmin would really help me with my splits, though, if I ever decided to speed up a little 😉 I’m sure I’m starting out too fast or too slow or something!
I love your running picture. Those conditions look miserable, I have to agree with you!
Hey girl- glad you’re feeling better! You must me so excited for the race! I definitely feel rejuvenated and renewed after a little break. And yes, I totally depend on my garmin, probably too much so. More for distance rather than pace really. Enjoy the wedding and the gorgeous weather!