I did it!

Today, I did it. I ran 3 miles. I am very surprised that I was up to it today. I will explain.

I took the weekend off, so I didn't run a long run last Saturday like I normally do. Then, on Monday when I ran again, it was really hard and I only ran 10 laps (1.5 miles). I started to worry that I wouldn't be ready to do the 5K in a couple weeks.

I haven't been losing weight this week like I expected. I weighed 236 this morning. Which means that I have only 2 more days to lose another 4 pounds. It's not going to happen. On top of that, I have been feeling kinda beat. The closer I get to my goal, the more tired I feel. This isn't a huge surprise. Losing weight takes it out of you. Also, I have had a mild headache since Monday.

I had to be at work a little early in order to meet some contractors this morning. This meant that I had to skip my morning run. That may have been the exact thing I needed. I decided to go running during my lunch break which I took at like 11:00AM. I started running, and in spite of the headache, I felt strong. I ran the first mile faster than usual, 9 minutes. I then slowed down a little because I began to feel that I would probably be able to run the whole 3 miles. So the second mile was about 10 minutes. I felt pretty tired by the end of the second mile, but I still had some left in the tank so I kept going. It took me 11 minutes to finish that last mile, but I did it. Hooray for me!

I feel great now. The thing that makes it even better is that I hadn't carb loaded before hand. I'm always able to run longer after a carb loading day. Usually on Saturdays I can run over 2 miles. I think that the longest I have run on a regular day, in the middle of the week, is like 2 miles. Maybe not even that long. To be able to do it today is a huge improvement. I am not sure what exactly caused it. It could be the weekend rest I took, it could be the fact that I had eaten breafast (I always run 1st thing in the morning before eating), it could be that I had a vault about an hour before the run. It could be just that my body was ready for an improvement. It will be interesting to see how I do on Friday. Friday is my off day, but I think that I will run before I eat in the morning. That means that I will be at my lightest and hungriest. That should give me an idea whether or not my running has improved that much, or if I simply need to eat before I run.

I think that my use of caffeine in the form of vault zero is starting to take it's toll. It could simply be dehydration, but I have a suspicion that I have overdone the caffeine intake and now I am paying for it. It's still helping with the weight loss, but it is causing mild headaches that never really go away.