So I have not been exercising much for the last week, and I have basically gained almost all my weight back... probably because I was eating unhealthy again. Work stress is just not healthy for me. Besides the stress part, it really throws me off-course with exercise and eating healthier.
Anyways, at least I got to running today. Surprisingly, I was able to easily jog for 30 minutes straight at 5 mph (~12 minute mile). I was a bit out of breath near the end, but I felt that I could probably do another 10 minutes.
My perception on how long I can keep a pace is rather poor. To test this, I walked 2.5 minutes then ran 2.5 minutes at 7 mph. When I switched to the running pace, I thought I could do 10 minutes, then quickly to 5 minutes in 30 seconds. By the 1.5 minute mark, I wanted to stop.
Some people say that they don't like to run because it is boring. I have never felt that way, but then I also do not really get bored easily. What keeps me focused is that I try to analyze how I am progressing. I am always checking how I feel I am doing to predict how much longer I can go. Sometimes, I feel a slight ache or soreness or I just feel something in certain parts of my body (like my foot or joint) then I try to change my movement to minimize the feeling. Other times, I experiment with my posture. Especially on the treadmills, I have a habit of looking down because I am so focused on the timer. I have noticed that I can run longer and faster if I simply look up.
Some day, I need to track my progress on my outdoor runs. I always find that I cannot run as long outdoors, but I also suspect that I run faster than I do on the treadmill even though I am trying to maintain the same speed by my sense alone. My other hypothesis is that it is easier to run on the treadmill because I do not actually have to move my body. Basically, I think I just have to move my feet fast enough to keep my body in a single place. The other factor to outdoors is that there are hills which I am terrible with.
I do not understand why hills impact me far greater than other people. My effectiveness at running up hills drops significantly. While most people slow down, I can never maintain the same reduced pace as others on outdoors (where I try to keep pace with someone). I wonder if this is due to me running with my feet close to the ground. I notice that I run very quietly. I also have walk rather quietly as many people have actually complained that I appear out of nowhere many times. Or that I run/jog more on the balls of my feet. I always found it odd how others make so much sound with they run. Or maybe I am just so out of shape.
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