Outside again!

Sundays are typically the day for my long run and today was no different. Ian had planned a 17k run for me. And although his practice of varying the pace throughout runs had helped easy the boredom I had historically experienced running on a treadmill, I didn't think even that would help me get through a 1 hour and 25 minute indoor session.

So I decided to break the run up, covering the first 9k outside and finishing up inside on the treadmill. I drove to the gym at work, laid out my clothes for the inside part of the run and headed outside.

The first part of the run called for 5k at a 5:10 per km pace, followed by 4k at a 5 minute per km clip. Paces I was sure I could maintain even if the sidewalks were slippery and snow covered.

Fortunately it was a great day for Ottawa in late December, about -4C and there was virtually no wind. The sidewalks were clean of snow and ice, with only the occasional puddle or slippery area.

It felt great to be running outside again. I've been running exclusively on a treadmill for almost a month. My last outside run had been a 15k long run at the end of November. But today I was layered-up and enjoying the cool winter air as I cruised along the sidewalk.

Before I knew it I had reached the 4k mark and decided to extend the outside portion of my run to 12k. It was so nice I would have done the complete run outside, but I hadn't brought any water along and was afraid I'd get dehydrated if I ran the entire 17k, but figured I could handle 12k, so I pushed on.

The route I had chosen included a few good sized hills and although I had been varying the incline during my treadmill runs, it wasn't the same feeling as powering up a real hill!

Anyway, I felt strong and easily hit all the paces required for the run, including going 4:50 per km over the last 3k of the outside stretch. I arrived back at the gym, quickly changed into the t-shirt and shorts I had set out before going outside, threw on my indoor shoes, grabbed my water bottle and headed to the treadmill.

I powered up the machine and in no time I was running at a 4:40 pace. At the 2k mark I increased the pace to 4:30 and was surprised how strong I felt and how easy the pace felt. I was sure I could go on forever at that pace, but at the 3k mark I slowed things down to the 5:10 pace the plan called for, holding that for the final 2k.

I felt great!

As I showered I reflected on the past 6 weeks of training and although I had missed a couple of runs this past week due to a cold, I felt as though I had made significant progress since hiring Ian to coach me. I've gotten faster and my stamina has improved.

I'm looking forward to what Ian has in store for me the next two weeks and testing myself in January!