The Reward for Pushing Through

I had a 5 mile run scheduled for last night.  Compared to the 12 miles I ran on Saturday, I was thinking that it would be a cake walk.  The weather was a bit uncooperative (rainy), but it was manageable.  Hubster did his best to distract me from my run, but I stayed on track and got dressed for the rainy run.  My motivation for the run was low and I nearly caved when Hubby expressed concern over me running by myself in the rain in the dark.  He really didn't want me to go (which is really unusual for him); but in the end all I could think about was my goal of 80 miles for the month of April and I knew that if I missed this run, I wouldn't be able to make it up and catch up to my goal.  I'm on track so far!

So...off I went in the rain.  I had brought my rain jacket, but quickly realized that I had too many layers on and that I'd rather be wet and the correct temperature than dry and sweating like a maniac.  So the jacket came off and was tied around my waist for the rest of the run.

I'm not gonna lie...I wanted to stop and go home within the first mile.  My right leg was bugging me, and I was just not in the zone.  The distance felt way long, and I was sluggish.  Hubster had requested that I run close to home, so I was always within a quarter mile of the comfort of my house and it took a LOT of will power not to just call it a day.  But, I persevered.  I thought of all the reasons I run--lose weight, stave off asthma, have pride, enjoy races, friendship, etc.  It is a rather lengthy list.  Admittedly, the one that kept me going last night was purely superficial.  I kept thinking of my goal of being back in the 140s by the end of the month (149 is the goal), and I knew that in order to do that I had to work hard to push through the plateau.  I wouldn't get there without a struggle.  So, I kept plodding along until I finally reached 5 miles:

It looks like my pace from Saturday decided to stay with me!  My heart rate was pretty level, and overall it was a good run.  But the highlight for me came this morning when I stepped on the scale.  I had weighed in the day before at exactly 151.0 (which I was super stoked about).  But today when I stepped on the scale I was greeted with a lovely 149.6.  I'm not sure that number will stick over the course of the week, but it truly felt like a present to reward me for my hard work.  I was so excited to see that the struggle from the night before had amounted to something I had been aiming for.  

Tonight I will be biking--time to start the cross training!  I don't have a mileage goal in mind--I just want to bike for a half an hour or so.  Hopefully the weather is a bit nicer tonight!

How are your goals for April coming along?  We are already halfway through the month!