Tuesday, December 29, 2009

A Nice Welcome Back

After taking last week off, I’m back to running. I am off two minds looking back on my self-imposed / snow-imposed hiatus. On the one hand, it felt good to stay up a little later than my usual 8 o’clock bedtime and even better to sleep in 2 hours more than usual. However, I also let myself eat many more cookies than I usually do and by the middle of the week I was feeling sluggish and unhealthy.

I’ve run every morning since Saturday but it wasn’t until this morning that I felt like I was finally back in the groove. The first run post-hiatus went better than I expected, especially since it was raining cats and dogs during the run. I did a five mile run and with the unusually warm temperatures, the rain actually felt nice instead of burdensome. The bike trails were still snow covered before it started raining so I was running through puddles of slush/snow mix. By the end of the five miles, I was happy to be inside some place warm and dry but still thrilled to have completed a run finally.

Sunday was a gorgeous winter morning. Cold but refreshingly crisp (instead of biting), the snow glistened in the snow and ice glistened in the snow as it slowly melted. Birds were out chirping and there were plenty of runners out on the trails, many of whom looking to equally glad to be out running on such a beautiful morning. The bike path had been significantly cleared from the previous day’s warmer temperature and rain so dodging ice was less of an issue than the day before. I only slipped once; the bridges were still covered in snow, slush and ice.

The schedule has a long run of 15 miles for Sunday but I told myself to just go out and run until it felt like it was time to come home. I ended up running a very satisfying 9.5 miles.

Monday I ran an easy 5.3 miles in the early morning hours before work and it made me realize how much I missed my predawn runs. I went out at an easy and relaxed pace – like a little, running monk, Ommmmmm.

I am surprised at how easy it was to get back in to my routine and that none of the runs have been a struggle but it wasn’t until today that I felt like I was really back from a break. This morning’s 10 miles were perfect. I felt like I was gliding along the path this morning instead of pounding away at the pavement. It was effortless and energizing. I didn’t see anyone else on the bike path for close to an hour so it was just me floating along this morning, enjoying the solitude, the dark, the (relative) quiet. Running felt awesome – I felt quick, the hills hardly gave me any issues, I felt like the Energizer Bunny, as trite as that is, it is true! It turns out my pace wasn’t anything surprising (I was secretly hoping it would be even though I wasn’t pushing the pace at all) – a steady 10 minute mile but it felt so easy.

It is good to be back!

Daily Dozen:
10 miles run @ early morning
(planned) Strength Training @ lunch hour(planned) 3 miles run/walk after work w/ Jenn

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Confession

I have a confession to make: Today is Wednesday and I haven’t run since last Friday. That’s five days of no running! This the longest stretch of voluntary non-running for me since I started running over three years ago (not including the month of non-running due to injury last year). I have been a victim of the great Blizzard of 2009 and quite frankly, I can’t say I mind too much.

Rather than stress out about it, I have decided that as a Christmas present to myself I am taking this week off and I am not going to stress out about it. The roads, sidewalks and bike paths around me are still horrendous. I have seen a few runners out and about but it looks like they are having a hard enough still trudging through the snow and slush, not to mention the extra effort needed to remain upright because of the (sometimes hidden) patches of ice all over the area.
I will admit that I have easy access to the treadmills in the gym at work and they have been calling my name (I am thinking about succumbing this afternoon) but I have been enjoying this whole non-running thing. Consider it a re-boot for the coming marathon training that starts in January.

Don’t worry though, I haven’t been idle! Saturday and Sunday were spent on lots and lots of snow shoveling. Monday I took a long walk in the snow since I have the day off from work due to the snow. I’ve also been baking cookies and….well, and eating them!

Next week, it’s game on. For now…Merry Christmas and enjoy the holiday!

Daily Dozen:
Not a thing…for now!



Monday, December 14, 2009

Vacation + Running = ??

Vacation and consistent running don’t always mix well for me.

First, I am such a creature of habit. I love having a schedule; knowing exactly what I’m going to be doing and when I’m going to be doing it. When something disrupts that schedule, I get thrown for a loop and don’t get as much accomplished as I could (should? would?) have normally. Without a specific plan on a weekend, I can very easily and quickly waste two whole days as a lazy lump on the couch, not even bothering to get dressed. This is why I like to get my run in first thing on Saturday morning. With my run accomplished, I have the momentum to keep going for the rest of the weekend…well, the rest of Saturday, at least.

Vacations throw the schedule right out the window. Whoosh!

As running has become a larger part of my life and who I am, I’ve been getting better at carving out vacation time to run. I’ve hoped on a few treadmills in hotel gyms (never great) and I managed a run or two in Bar Harbor, Maine, even hopping on a trail in to Acadia National Park (awesome). I’m better about getting in runs while I am in Vermont visiting my parents (mostly because my Mom expects me to run and will ask me whether I’m going out the next day…she even drives me to a great location to run, how could I not run). This past vacation to Miami proved to be the best in terms of running consistently; mainly, because I made running a part of my regular “vacation” schedule.

Since Mike was in a conference most of the time we were in Miami, I got used to waking up and going out for a run. It is what I did every morning – wake up, nibble on something, go out for a run on the beach, come back, shower, eat breakfast, hit the pool or beach by 10. This became my norm – day in, day out.

Not a bad way to vacation, huh?

However, this routine was thrown out the window (whoosh!) when Mike’s conference ended. This brings me to the second reason vacationing and running don’t mix well for me. I am very reluctant for my running to cut in to the time I spend with Mike. It’s why I run in the morning and why I’m so bad with running after work or weekend afternoons. Vacation time equals our time and I hate to intrude on our time with me time. I know Mike wouldn’t mind but I hate to do it anyway.

It’s OK though. I loved my early morning beach runs as much as I loved sleeping in and sitting on beach with Mike the rest of the time. This was my view for most of my time in Miami. Who could resist the urge to be lazy?

We got plenty of walking in and I even managed to sneak in some kayaking.

Vacation Recap:
Sunday – XT, Kayaking
Monday – 9.4 mile run (4.5 miles on the beach – running on the beach is HARD!)
Tuesday – 10 mile run
Wednesday – 9.3 mile run (first 5 miles w/ intervals, 6 minutes easy/1 minute hard)
Thursday – 5.8 mile run (nice and easy, my legs are tired)
Friday – touristy walking
Saturday – mostly just sitting, reading and napping on the beach *sigh*

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

New Attitude

I have been listening to old episodes of the Running Times podcast and I recently heard one from October 2008. The guest on the show was Bob Kennedy, an American record holder, who was the first non-African to break 13:00 in the 5,000m distance. He discussed his thoughts on the mentality needed in order achieve breakthrough performances in running.

One of his ideas that really stuck with me (and I’m paraphrasing here), is that a runner can show up on any given day with two different attitudes – one, wondering “how much am I going to fail today” or two, “I wonder how much I’m going to succeed today.” Of course, both of these depend on other factors – strength in training, sleep, nutrition, overtraining, proper recovery, etc. but it just reminded me how much of this sport is a mental game as well as a physical one.

How much am I going to succeed today?

What a great perspective. The optimism in that attitude is tremendous. The first attitude is one of fear, which is exactly what I’ve been trying to weed out of my running. Running scared is no way to run. Even if I don’t meet my goals for a particular run or race, at least I started out with a positive attitude. I started out looking to succeed rather than trying to control my fears.

I continue to run strong and consistently and this attitude is exactly what I need to add to my running. How much am I going to succeed today!

As I start this new month, I am looking to take my mileage up to the next level and hold it steady at 45-50 miles a week until I start training in January for the Country Music Marathon. I’m going to ask myself this question, each time I start to question my abilities, each time I start to lose confidence in myself and my running.

My current marathon PR is 4:19:09. My last half marathon time predicts a sub-4 hour marathon time. When I initially saw that prediction, my reaction was “no way!” but now, I want to rethink. Rather than shy away from the sub-4 hour goal, I am going to embrace it. If I don’t get a sub-4 in Nashville, it just means I didn’t succeed as much as I could have succeeded. It doesn’t mean I failed.

Also, this new attitude may have inspired me to try a different kind of race. Who knows? Maybe I’ll give it a shot! We’ll see where this new attitude takes me.

Daily Dozen:
10.36 miles this morning (first run below 30 degrees – definitely wore tights this morning)
XT and push ups and other strength training @ lunch hour
Related Posts with Thumbnails