THIS peace of running
Yesterday I read something about an ultra that totally motivated me! OMG I have to run an ultra! I very excitedly texted a friend about it….. 50 miles omg can you imagine how awesome that would be! My friend very calmly asked…. what happened to 5ks…. OH yes…. I want to do those too and my 149 half AND someday qualify for Boston and pick up some age group awards in the local small races and…… Whoa I guess I really like to run or something. I ready this other amazing article this weekend….. about being at peace with yourself about your abilities and your limitations….. about understanding the training effect is universal, but everyone responds differently…. everyones body is so different…. we gain speed, endurance, power…. and lose weight at a rate that is unique to our bodies…… and we must recognize and accept this…….
Most of my running friends have hit that 149 and are moving on…..I have not. Still far from it. I am the only friend I know that runs 5ks, trail runs, half marathons and full marathons with regularity…. I may not win, I may not be the best, but I am in the game on all of these races…… using my experience and knowledge from each distance to bridge a platform to the next….. fast 5ks turn into halves turn into fulls turn into faster 5ks turn into power building trail runs turn into faster halves and so on…. At the end of the day… I am just doing what i love and trying to do it well.
There are aspects unique to my running that my fast friends have to work for…. I am learning...we all have something special about our running….. it is what draws us to the sport…. it is what says… this feels great to me because……..if you don't know your ability…. take some time and figure it out! We all deserve that. I am back to my running group and it feels great! I have cut back in some areas and increased the difficulty of others…. Summer heat running reminds me to hydrate well! My first run group friend asked me to run a race with her this Thursday. I am so happy and excited. But my race outlook has gone from kind of panicked to all out sheer terror. I can not explain that…. last year…. it was an all out running high for every race I did…. hitting all of my numbers…crushing PRs…. then my injury in chicago happened and I have not been the same. I can't train the same…. don't run the same…. I am not full of doubt… I am full of fear. I want to shake myself and say…HEY YOU that runner you were last year… can SHE come back? Now, at the slightest sign of discomfort I want to stop….. that push on don't quit iron clad will…. it is seriously wavering…. and it is a serious struggle out there, in the field. So races scare me because I do not feel ready. And I am very afraid. It is all mental and I can't shake it.
But in all of this…. I still just love to run. I am thankful everyday for what I can do. And for now, I am at peace with it…. I will race on thursday… try really hard…. not hit my goal because my goal will be too high and I haven't trained hard enough YET. YET. It is practice…. and while there will be disappointment… the failure will build a stronger resolve to succeed. You will never win, if you never lose….. A race…...is about risk and taking chances….. discovering who you are and who you want to become on that course…. and going back to your training and working harder. Loving your strengths…. and working on your weaknesses….. and being at peace…… as you cross the start and you breathe it all in…..knowing it will hurt… burn…. torture your mind and torch your goals…….break you down and you will want to quit….. if you don't… you are not pushing hard enough…… and that peace finds you at the finish…. having completed yet another race and one step closer to goal pace…… And while I am not sure what I've got…. I am sure… by the end of the race ..Iv'e got "this".
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Something amazing happened in my run group. As we set off to the hills for an intense work out…. I feel in step with a Gary, a Michelle, and a Kevin. I should say everyone in my group is intimidating! Everyone looks fast because they are fast….. as the elite's ran past us….."Oh there go the elites" Gary commented….. in a nice…. they are awesome kind of way…. then the next wave past….."Not elite but still fast"…. and I knew I had found my place! I was with the medium pack! We were medium fast and we were starting to have fun……. We ran the hills together….. racing….pacing….keeping each other motivated…. Gary kept time for us….. we laughed… we talked….. we had a lot of fun out there. Then I started my jog back and fell into step with these two runners…. that I see in races all the time…. like winning and stuff…… and we ran back…. together…and my cool down was there cool down and we just kind of talked…. and laughed…. and when we got back to the parking lot….. almost 6 miles of hill sprits work done….. the most extraordinary thing had happened…. I realized I had not turned my music on. Not at all….. not once…. So engaged in what I was doing and so in love with the moment….. all I did was run… and I didn't need anything to take my mind off of it being hard…. because it wasn't hard…. it was just FUN. RUN work out
warm up… 1-2 miles
30 minutes on hills run up 1 min FAST 30 sec recovery jog run down 1 min sprint 30 second recovery jog
cool down 1-2 miles
the point is to never stop…. 30 second jog can be slower than a walk… but stay in the run mind set….of course I was dying my the end of the 3rd set… and 30 seconds seemed like 5 and 1 minute seemed like an entirety.
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