What Are You Scurred Of?!

on October 14, 2008

Good evening! My tempo run went well tonight, but it was SUPER CHALLENGING! In case you didn’t read the explanation of my current 10K Training Program, a tempo run is defined as:

A tempo run is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near 10K race pace (9-minute mile pace). The pace buildup should be gradual, not sudden, with peak speed coming about two-thirds into the workout.

Here was my plan for tonight:

Mile 0.0 to Mile 1.0 – Pace a 10:00-mile
Mile 1.0 to Mile 2.0 – Pace a 10:00-mile
Mile 2.0 to Mile 3.0 – Pace a 9:00-mile
Mile 3.0 to Mile 4.0 – Pace a 9:00-mile
Mile 4.0 to Mile 5.0 – Pace a 9:00-mile
Cool Down!

I managed to pace 8:30 for miles 3.0 and 4.0! Whoo hoo! But… I’m not going to lie — it was hard! My heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest! Here are my statistics:

Duration: 51 minutes (5.0 miles + cool down)
Average Heart Rate: 178 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 201 bpm
Calories Burned: 516

One of the most challenging aspects of this tempo run was I had to FIGHT negative thinking. Negative thinking doesn’t get you anywhere in life, and running is no exception… I had to literally TELL myself to STOP thinking ‘I’m so tired’ or ‘My legs are sore.’

I think my negative thinking comes from the fact that sometimes I’m scared to succeed. Success can be kind of scary! And–if I reach my goal, what’s the next step?! I have to do even MORE!

Obviously, I’m a generally positive person. But, I can see how this thought pattern can affect people who are trying to lose weight or start dating… does anyone else feel like this sometimes? How do you nip this behavior in the bud?

Dinner

After my run, I made a quickie dinner of Morning Star Meal Starter + Kashi Pilaf. I had a side of roasted zucchini.

I mixed the Kashi Pilad + Morning Star Meal Starter with about 1/4 cup of pasta sauce to make it a little wet and more flavorful!

Pre-Run Snack

I had a piece of WW toast with PB around 4:30 PM.

About two hours earlier, I made a skim milk + frozen peach smoothie. Sorry for the blurry pic!

And… pretty much right after lunch, I ate a Z-Bar. Once my current stash of these runs out, I don’t think I’m going to buy any for a while…. I CRAVE THEM CRAZY STYLES! 🙂

Time to do MORE work… grrrr!

Have a nice night!

Edited to add: Cereal + TV = Perfection 🙂

{ 13 comments }

Meg October 14, 2008, 5:12 pm
Dinner looks delicious!

I agree that sometimes success can be scary!

Great tempo run!
loveofoats October 14, 2008, 5:18 pm
i love that you post all of these training plans – it’s really informative AND inspirational!
amy. October 14, 2008, 5:34 pm
great job on your run! im glad you fought through your negative thoughts.

i deal with this all the time, especially in my recovery from my e.d. i constantly talk to myself in my head, saying positive things like “i know you are capable” “you are able to do this” “you are capable of handling this”, etc. it helps calm the negativity usually!
HangryPants October 14, 2008, 6:21 pm
I really enjoyed this post. I often have the same negative thoughts, especially when running outside. it’s like I can’t get them out of my brain. You’re such a good influence on me. 🙂

Oh, and I’ve been concentrating on keeping my hands like they’re holding ice cream cones when I run.
Caitlin October 14, 2008, 6:23 pm
loveofoats – thanks sweet

amy – rock on!!

heather – i lurve you. ice cream cone hands work so well.
runningwithfood.com October 14, 2008, 6:26 pm
201 Max HR!!! Wowza … that’s really high girl! You were working it!

I still haven’t tried the Kashi Pilaf. Yours looks delish!

Way to banish negative thoughts! When they come my way, I always try to think about how far I’ve come with my goals and that normally makes me smile! 🙂
jenngirl October 14, 2008, 7:11 pm
Nice run, those stats are awesome! I definitely agree with the negative though processes, I do it with exercise and in life sometimes as well…I’ve been doing it a lot lately in my relationship with a new guy. It’s like I’m afraid to get really close to someone, because then I think, “where do we go from there?” I’m weird, haha, but thanks for bringing up such a great point tonight!

Dinner looked great 🙂
just me October 14, 2008, 7:55 pm
dinner sounds great!

great job on your run! i totally had the same thing with mine today…glad we got through it!
Lizzie October 14, 2008, 8:40 pm
Ah, the scary aspect of success. That really struck a heartstring with me. I find its tied into my fear of maintaining my weight. I was a fairly svelte 124 who decided to tone, toned to 120, then figured I’d shoot for 115, then 115 to 110 happened super quick. Lo and behold, I was hanging steady at 105 but the fam starting barking. I’m now 107, would like to be around 110, but petrified of it. I’m afraid to do any less workout than I already do now. Thoughts? Anyone? Also, I’ve been conscientiously trying to up my calories to what I should eat to maintain, but I find these newfound calories so liberating and enjoyable that instead of just eating bigger portions of healthy foods, I horde the calories so I can make awesome desserts each night. I’ll eat about 1200 during the day, and then eat a 500 calorie dessert (with the one caveat being that it must remain trans-fat free and low in yuck sat fat) sorry for such a long post
madison October 14, 2008, 10:44 pm
i really like your question! makes me think.

i think in my effort to lose weight success can definitely be a fear. the “what next” part and what if i’m still not satisfied with myself after losing the weight? as of now, i don’t feel satisfied with myself but the weight almost seems like a good enough reason for it. but after the weights gone…

on the other side i’m also afraid of failing to lose weight, that i think i have in the past “failed” on purpose. if i fail on purpose, i don’t give myself a chance to fail accidentally, which is the *true* failure.

sorry for all this psychological jibberish!

i agree – cereal+TV=perfection =)
HangryPants October 15, 2008, 3:44 am
Oh, I just saw your comment re: chobani somewhere. FYI: I am chobani-less, too!!!!!
Caitlin (see bride run) October 15, 2008, 4:08 am
lizzie – what a sweet, honest comment. i feel for you! it’s hard for me to cut back on workout out as well, but it’s never good if working out is interfering with your ability to maintain a healthy weight. 107 is pretty low for most women — i’m 119 and 5 ft 4, and sometimes i feel “too” skinny!

i think you’re on the right path to incorporate more calories into your diet, but you say you’re “hording” calories to make a bigger dessert at night. this puts a tremondous strain on your body, as it’s forced to run low on fumes all day and then it gets flooded with sugar (i’m guessing) at night.

sometimes our fears about weight loss, weight maintenance, or exercise are really fears about something bigger. i used to binge at night because i was lonely or tired and it gave me something to do. what are you REALLY scared of?

anyways, desserts are fine, of course, but even you acknowledge that there’s something unhealthy about this behavior. maybe you could go buy 100-calorie skinny cow ice cream bars and have one a night. then, it’s a portioned dessert and a controlled decision.

as for over exercising, i think you just have to make yourself STOP. there’s no way around that. maybe you could make up a “training” program like i do for running, but tailor it to your fav form of exercise and then stick FIRMLY to that schedule. like if you’ve been spinning for 1 hour and then running for another 30 minutes, write down you’ll spin for an hour and then when it’s over, it’s over – you’re just following your schedule!

good luck and much love. xoxox

madison – the fear of the unknown is always scary, but the feeling of disappointment in yourself is even worse. work hard for your goals, i know you’ll achieve them!

heather – yea, i really need some chobani samples in my life.
Jordan October 15, 2008, 5:13 am
I wish I had someone to run with in Jacksonville =\

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