Things Bree Hates about Running that Will Make Her a Better Runner

This blog post is dedicated to Josh, who threatened me with it if I didn't stop whining.  :)

1.  Running Outside
I like my hamster wheel.  I like the regularity of the track.  I like that I can run at sunrise, sunset, after dark, in the rain, in the snow, in the heat...and it all feels about the same.  Just the scenery changes (kind of).  I like that there is eye candy.  I like that I can tell myself that I am doing more laps than I can count.  I like playing math games with my lap times.  Heck, I like that I can pace myself with those lap times.  Outside I lose all of those things...but, I gain a harder workout, crunchy leaves, and a change of scenery every few minutes.  I get to think about Pop-Up talking to squirrels (since I don't do those things) and wave at people.  I get to have dogs bark at me and cars roar past.  I get to wonder why my town doesn't feel the need for sidewalks.  So...do I prefer my hamster wheel?  Yes.  Will I get to be a better racer by going outside and dealing with the elements?  Absolutely.  I'm not whining about this one (much) anymore...

2.  Pacing my Laps
For the first month or so of running on the hamster wheel, I had my heart rate monitor set to display total time instead of lap time while I ran.  Every time I would hit the lap time button, it would stop briefly to display the total time at the end of the lap before the total time came back to the display.  Since I was having difficulty with pacing my laps consistently, suggestions were made that I should view the lap time so that I could monitor at the half lap spot to see where I was at with my pacing.  I resisted this suggestion for awhile, but gave it a shot one day and haven't moved back since.  Has it made me a more consistent runner?  Yes.  Does it make it difficult for me to know my total time yes?  Has it made me a faster runner already?  Absolutely.  I'm not whining about this one (at all) anymore either....

3.  Jogging my Recovery Laps during Intervals
This is the one that inspired this blog post.  I have been walking the recovery laps during my interval sessions whether they are short, medium, or long.  It is easier to walk these laps because typically by the time I'm done running the interval distance, I'm tired and out of breath.  This week, for the first time, I aimed to jog the interval laps.  Was it fun?  No.  Was I more tired and out of breath?  Yes.  Did I whine about it when I got home?  Yes.  And threats were made by my friend Josh that inspired this blog post.  (*grin*)  Will doing this make me a better runner?  That's what I'm told...the jury is still out on this one.  (But, probably, I shouldn't be whining about this one anymore either......)