Getting right back up
After Sunday’s wall-hitting run, I’ve taken the past few days to privately think about that moment and where I’ve been since last fall. It’s been a big wake-up call to focus on the work that remains and that I can’t get into a comfort zone of training that’s so easy to slip into.
It’s really hard to explain, but I’ve had a variety of thoughts this week that at first seem a bit jumbled, but they all fit together somehow.
I’ve dusted of Matt Fitzgerald’s “RUN: The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel” that I got for Christmas to find things that made sense then, but I never really grasped. I read much of that book at the lowest points of my running seven months ago. Once again, I feel like this book was made for me as it reaffirms so many of my approaches to running in the past couple of years. I need it now to get refocused. I hope by the end of summer to write an appropriate review.- I read a good post this week over on Loving the Run about bucket lists, a term I’ve never really liked until now. I don’t have a bucket list; I’m afraid to make one. Right now it seems my thoughts are getting through the Baltimore Marathon uninjured, but is that the right frame of mind? I don’t really know, but if I’m questioning it, perhaps I should make my own bucket list.
- I’m getting very close to establishing a specific goal for the Lynchburg Half Marathon that is Aug. 13. The “non-race race” approach has worked in the past, but honestly this is a perfect time to test where I am both physically and mentally at a longer distance on a tough course. I’m not saying it will be a 100 percent all-out race, but I have a feeling it may be close. Blame the book or the wall-hitting or buckets on these thoughts, but I think the same approach as last year puts me back in this same-old same-old routine.
- Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that after Sunday’s run, I bounced back in the mid-day heat the next day for a lunch run of 4.1 miles. I treated it mentally as a recovery run with a co-worker; I felt like I complained the whole time, but we turned in a nice run at right about a 9-minute mile pace. I needed that run as much as I think I needed this wake-up call.
Now that I’ve put all this out there, it’s time to move on and make this the best week of training.
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Funny. I just mailed the book I was reading, Mile Markers, not even finished, to a friend. Now I'm bookless. And you remind me of this book's existence. I'm pretty sure I could benefit from dusting it off too. Or, I'll just let you blog about it, and I can read it here. Ha.
It's very interesting to me, last Tues., I had a 14 planned and ended at 11 as well. I think the hills "got me" more than the heat, but it was the combination for sure. (you can read about it here http://happyfeet26-2.blogspot.com) No biggie - good days, bad days we all have them. Typically, bad days are followed by good days and that's a good thing.
Funny thing about the bucket list…I liked Brady's post too but for me it's not so much about the race anymore. I'm absolutely positively excited to start another runstreak. I'll start on Aug 1 (hopefully…providing no injury after San Francisco marathon).
I love to run every day. I love the one mile run. I love the 10 mile run. The morning ritual is sacred to me. Strange, huh? We all have different goals before we kick the bucket…right now I just want to run every damn day until I can't anymore.
I'm not much of a list-maker, bucket list-maker, goal-setter, five year planner, etc. I tend to take things as they come, set goals on a whim and try to say "yes" when life presents a new opportunity.
@Jim - I love what you are doing with your streak. Since I'm in a "do something" streak that I've only blogged about once, I now find that I am expecting much more out of myself.
@Coco - While I love spontaneity, I have to say that not setting long-term goals is why I got fat years ago. I'll always say "yes" when life presents a new opportunity, but I also want to dream big and set my sights on things with running that seem impossible right now.
Maybe just don't call it a "bucket" list?
I am a fan of having a list of goals (I update mine in January every year), but I shudder at the terms "resolution" and "bucket list."
David,
I think making a list — whatever kind of list you choose to make — could serve as inspiration. Like Jim said, it doesn't have to be a race. It can be anything that fires you up.
Good luck,
Brady