No Pain, No Gain

Day 10

No Pain, No Gain.  I repeated this phrase as I was silently pleading with myself to continue running today.

There were so many reasons today's run was disappointing.  I shouldn't have done the park 0.6 mile loop.  I know I get bored after 5 or 6 loops.  I definitely should have monitored my pace better for the first mile -- I did not need to be averaging sub-7:00 during a run where I was aiming for 5-6 miles.  That first mile needs to be slow.  8:00-8:30 - I know that.  Rookie mistake.  Reigning myself in lately has been a struggle.  Each run I want to bust out of the gate clipping sub 7:00's.  But I need to restrain myself - save energy for later.  I also should not have done my second run of the week on hills -- this time climbing over 360 feet.  But my true disappointment came because I was unable to overcome boredom or the burning in my lungs.  This was due to the aching pain in my left shoulder.  Since I was a kid, I have suffered from tendonitis.

For those who don't know, a tendon is connective tissue that connects muscle to bone.  They're made of collagen which is a type of protein found all over our bodies -- our skin, eyes, blood vessels, etc.  Tendonitis is inflammation of a tendon.  In my case it's usually ankle tendons and shoulder tendons -- especially the left shoulder.  Since I've had this issue since I was a kid, I know the drill -- take a day off, ice the shoulder, and take ibuprofen.  I also know I have a reached a point in my training where I likely will need ibuprofen before each run.  During longer runs, I usually carry an extra Advil with me in case I need it towards the end.  Today the pain was enough, likely combined with the boredom and my final hill ascent, to make me quit after 4 miles.  And regardless of the reason -- medical or not -- I did feel like a quitter today.  But maybe that's a good thing.  I feel the fire to be better on Saturday when I go for my long run.  The "growth mindset," as discussed in Carol Dweck's amazing book "Mindset," is refocusing to see mistakes and failures as mere stepping stones that lead to success.

While today was a failure.  The silver lining was that even with hills, I averaged a fairly consistent 7:28 (which for a 3-5 mile run marks my best time).  My goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

Day 10: 4 miles with hills, 29:50, 7:28 pace.