The First 2 Miles

The first two miles always seem to be a struggle to me. I know it is not physical, but it sure is mental. I take off, and it doesn't matter how far I am going I don't think I can do it. After the first mile it gets a little better, but I don't get completely past that mental block until I hit two miles.

This morning was no different, that first mile seemed to drag by, then the second mile got a little better. It is magical, once I passed the second mile I was confident I could go as far as I needed to. This mornings run was a 4 mile run. My run this morning went well, I just didn't feel like I had a lot of energy. I am thinking this is due to the added stress lately at work and the 10-12 hour days I have been putting in. Hopefully that will subside in the next couple weeks.

Following my Half Marathon on Saturday, I went for a 1 mile run with my daughter, Payton on Sunday. I was hurting pretty bad and it took everything I had to get moving. Once I got moving I was in pain but I was fine. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to run with her, like I have so many times in the past. Following our 1 mile I went back out with my son, Brady for just over 1 mile of a walk/run. This was another nice time like the week before.

I took the next two days off to let my body recover and also because my ankle was starting to hurt again. I decided I would not put even one more mile in with my shoes. Tuesday evening I went and awarded myself with a new pair of shoes. I think I am also going to get a second pair of shoes as well so I can alternate between the two and see which ones I like better. I will let you know more about my shoes soon, and keep you posted on how I like the two shoes.

Well, I need to find myself a 10k to run in the next few weeks. I need to get a seeding time before March 16th so when I register for the 65,000 strong Peachtree Road Race I don't get so far back in the pack like last year that it takes me 45 minutes to cross the starting line. There is one this Saturday but I am just not sure that I want to do another race so soon.

Until next time...... thanks for following my Quest to a Marathon!

4 comments:

  1. I think the first 2 mile lethargy is pretty typical for most runners, Tim. I generally feel that way as well till about 1.5 - 2 miles. Even a long-time (20+ years) running friend of mine says she has the same issue.

    Congrats on the well deserved (and overdue) shoes! Good idea to get a second pair to alternate though as you have noted. Blaine was a big proponent of this and I heeded that advice several months ago.

    Good luck in the 10K search. I would think this weekend would be early too, but you are the only one that knows how you feel. I can't believe the size of that Peachtree race field! Holy Toledo!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Rick!

    Yea, I kinda figured it was - i have a couple friends at work that say the same thing as well. It is just so hard to understand.

    My feed also gets automatically posted to www.sweat365.com and someone posted this and I thought it was really good:

    Hey Tim,
    Good news! You’re not mental. :-)
    That first two-mile struggle is really a physiological phenomenon. Certainly we humans can add a mental factor to it (because we come to anticipate and dread the struggling feeling) - but this ‘warm up’ feeling is normal. When we go from a sedentary (or low activity) state to a higher activity state, our bodies have to suddently figure out how to produce the newly required levels of ATP (the energy chemical that makes our body ‘work’). Our body has to recognize an energy deficity/need, figure out where to get fuel (sugar and/or fat) sources from, mobilize the fuel, shunt the fuel to our energy production systems - and then deliver the energy chemicals to our newly working muscles. This takes time - and can actually ‘feel’ like we are sluggish and struggling. This is especially true for aerobic exercise. It can take about 20 or more minutes (give or take depending on the person) to get our aerobic energy producing systems humming along. (This is a long story on how our body mobilizes fat for fuel, etc etc etc.) For most people, this is about 1-2 miles. Some days, I don’t feel like I’ve kicked in until mile 4 or 5. Once the energy system is ‘warmed up’ though, and tuned into the new higher energy requrements - we have the experience of ‘hitting a rhythm’. And, we can go for miles!

    Check out how much fuel is in your tank (ie - sugar is in your blood) when you take off. I find that if I have a Gu (or even a very small glass of juice) right before I run, the sugar gets into my blood stream and can be used to temporarily fuel my energy system until my aerobic system really kicks in. (IE- before it has mobilized fat stores & uses them instead.)

    Just some fuel for thought…………..

    It was a comment from seashell and the link is here

    ReplyDelete
  3. Also - I am thrilled with the new shoes - they feel really good. I guess I didn't know how bad I really needed new ones.

    I think I am going to forego the 10k this week. I just hope I can find one because I am out of town next Saturday(and there is one then) seeing my brother in law off to Iraq for his second tour.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think the first 2 mile lethargy is pretty typical for most runners, Tim. I generally feel that way as well till about 1.5 - 2 miles. Even a long-time (20+ years) running friend of mine says she has the same issue.

    Congrats on the well deserved (and overdue) shoes! Good idea to get a second pair to alternate though as you have noted. Blaine was a big proponent of this and I heeded that advice several months ago.

    Good luck in the 10K search. I would think this weekend would be early too, but you are the only one that knows how you feel. I can't believe the size of that Peachtree race field! Holy Toledo!

    ReplyDelete