Baltimore Marathon Training Week 14

Monday: 2 Miles  (19:12)

14 weeks ago, I would have enjoyed the idea of running short distances and taking days off, but this week, it has killed me. The thought of “tapering” as it’s called in the running world, is an agonizing thought. To put so much time and energy into weeks of training and then to suddenly turn it off and focus on just going through motions has been difficult to comprehend. I understand the process completely, but during this transformation, my focus has been on building my base and now, I feel as though I am working against myself, running less miles and slowing pace tremendously. I know it is the right thing to do, but the thought of logging so few miles is painful.  Today’s run was simply that, painfully slow. Not only was I on a treadmill, but my pace was less than stealthy.  But, two miles is two miles and I can live with that.

Quote of the Day:

“I would have never thought that one sport could change my entire life, until I began running.”

Tuesday: 4 Miles  (30:55)

Remember that conversation from above, well like the stubborn mule that I am, I ignored my own words and I took off today with the intent to cover 4 miles as quickly as I could to push myself after the agonizing run yesterday. The temperature was in the 90’s, humidity also relatively high, but the run felt great, I was able to push my tempo averaging a 7:43 pace and running negative splits, which hasn’t happened in quite some time.  Though I was out of breath at the end, I still felt like I had a lot in the tank to continue to push, but resisted knowing that this weekend I would have all that I can handle. I want to get to the point that I can maintain this type of pace for long distances, I know I still have a ways to go, but these types of run give the hope that I can eventually achieve the lofty goals I have in my head.  

Quote of the Day:

“The real purpose of running isn’t to win a race, it’s to test the limits of the human heart.”

Wednesday: 3 Miles (26:43)

I had another date with the treadmill this morning. Though I love my new Garmin watch, the indoor running feature isn’t necessarily accurate or aligned to the treadmill and though I ran to 3 miles on my watch, the treadmill picked up almost .2 more, so today’s run was basically a 5k, but it felt good running slower negative splits and feeling as though this pace was very comfortable for the entire time.

Quote of the Day:

“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. The potential for greatness lives within each of us.”  

Sunday: Quad Cities Marathon (3:57:53)

The range of emotions I experienced today left me mentally drained but simultaneously at peace.  Quad Cities was not part of my plan, but reflecting on today’s experience, if i had the chance to do it again, I would take it. I allowed myself to really run my own race today, I experimented with fuel and pacing, and really learned how to listen to my body. I ran solo as well, which doesn’t seem like a big deal to most, but to me, it was probably the most difficult aspect. During training runs, I am always with someone, it helps pass the time and the conversations distract from the little voices in my head, but today, the little voices were heard loud and clear. I had intended to race with music, but by mile 6 my brand new wireless headphones had failed me and I about lost it. At that point the voices in my head started in and needless to say, I was ready to throw myself in the river and backstroke it to the finish line.

With no one to talk to and music no longer an option, the weather also reared its ugly face as the race progressed.  With the sun beating down and the rays bouncing off the river, water stations turned into hydration for not only the inside but outside of my body. I was taking two cups of water at most stops, dumping one on my head to cool my body down and trying to drink the other. If it says anything, even the pacer that I had began running with, pulled away from because of her inconsistent splits, eventually caught back up with me to only tell the 2 remaining people with her that she couldn’t continue and stopped running at mile 22 to sit down on the side of the road.  

With Baltimore 3 weeks away, I did learn some valuable lessons that I wouldn’t have acquired without running Quad Cities and have a new time to beat as I knocked another 12:41 off my marathon PR.  In addition, Ashley, Robert, and Ben provided insight into situational events that helped me overcome some obstacles that occurred during the race. I feel much more prepared for Baltimore having finished Quad Cities and I truly believe that I can clip my PR dramatically if the weather conditions are right and I got my fuel figured out in the later stages of my run.  

Quote of the Day:

“Everything you ever wanted to know about yourself you can learn in 26.2 miles”

Final Thoughts:

With just 3 weeks remaining, I have officially logged 512 miles in my training (35 this week), 44 miles ahead of what my projected totals should be at up to this point. Though 44 miles is not a lot, to think that I have been able to achieve this type of mileage in just 14 weeks gave me additional confidence that I needed leading up to Baltimore in October. Do I still have doubts, absolutely, but do I feel more confident in my abilities, most definitely.  

During the marathon I experienced a “runners high” unlike any other. While this high very immensely for everyone, my body felt weightless.  Any discomfort I was experiencing disappeared my pacing dipped as low as an 8:02 pace and never went above 8:17, nearly 30 seconds faster than I had anticipated running.  During this time, I felt amazing. It wasn’t because of the pacing, but with all of the feelings and emotions that came with it. Marshall Ulrich described it in his book as if he was watching himself run as a spectator and while I can’t say my feeling was identical, my body was weightless and I spent many miles unaware of my pace or even where I was because I was entranced by the feeling and scenery where I was. There were several miles during this time that I don’t remember because the state of euphoria I was in at times seemed like a dream, running 26.2 miles shouldn’t seem like a dream, but it did. The clarity during this time was also vivid. My thoughts seemed so black and white, I didn’t need to overthink because the pieces in my mind just fell into place, any issues that i felt, I had problem solved and ultimately, even with my body being put through torture, I felt at peace, as if my mind and soul had been cleansed.  

These moment, I will continue to chase them.  The raw emotion and vivid clarity have made running my magnificent obsession because even in these moments, I find the peace I am searching for both in running and my own personal life. I know it’s there, I just have to find it, capture it, and figure out a way to bring it back after the high wears off, because after it is gone, it's like falling out of the sky without a parachute, and we all know how that ends.  

   

Baltimore Marathon Training Week 13

Monday: 3 Miles  (26:21)

To start the week, I left my house just needing to get some miles in for the week and continue my “consecutive days” record. Beginning after 8 in the evening, I had put it off as long as possible, but decided I didn’t have a choice and I would rather continue the streak then to lose it over my own stubbornness.  The run was less than stellar, but as I ran through the neighborhood, I was focused on just getting to 3 miles, which has become the magic number that I must run at a minimum to at least feel as though I got something out of the day. Here’s to hoping this week is a productive one!

Quote of the Day:

“There is magic in misery, just ask a runner.”

Tuesday: 6 Miles  (45:53)

Running down 24 highway always make my heart rate increase rapidly. If I had a dollar for each time a car has almost hit me, or just simply not cared that I was running, I could afford to have someone right up my thoughts each day. The road is hilly and though there are sidewalks, there are many places were traffic constantly is pulling onto 24, so the added element of obvious drivers is always in my mind as I run. I didn’t start the run off with the intent to run negative splits, but as each mile passed, I continued to challenge myself to knock the times down and before I knew it, I was approaching my last hill, hell bent on breaking the 7:16 pace I had ran the mile before. The elevation gain was towards the end and I had to push myself more mentally than physically as I wanted to stop, but fortunately, was able to finish in 7:15, officially running all negative splits and averaging a 7:38 pace, which was much needed after not really coming into the run thinking I could run that quickly.

Quote of the Day:

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

Wednesday: 3 Miles (25:38) 7 Miles (1:00:50)

Prior to my meeting in Columbia, I had the opportunity to run in Rocheport, a town just outside of Columbia. The road was less than ideal, an old country road with no room on the sides to run, but I was bent on getting a run in and seeing the sun rise in a different city. The run started off slow, but overall, I was pleased with the overall run, dodging a snake and two dump trucks as I watched the sun rise over I-70.

When I returned from Columbia that evening, I decided to get another run in, this time with Ashley.  We ran the typical LBT route and managed to have a fairly decent pace, though we did spend a lot of our time talking shop, we are both teachers, which was nice since I had just returned from a conference. Running a double today was also reassuring as I was concerned with sitting in the meeting and car all day I wouldn’t be able to get my legs moving again, but obviously, that wasn’t accurate.

Quote of the Day:

“Sky above me, earth below me, fire within me”  

Thursday: 3 Miles  (23:44)

After a long day, I was ready to simply lay on the couch and find some mind numbing show to take my brain off of the day's tasks, but instead, my conscious told me to suck it up and get on my running shoes. I spent the next few minutes dragging my feet to find my things and decided that the faster I ran, the faster I could get back to what I was doing, much of nothing. The run however, as it always does, gave me time to think and reflect and in the end, I was thankful that I made the trek and logged the miles. With a pace a little below 8 minutes and some hill work combined, i was pleased with this late evening run as the temperatures were still not ideal. I hope that all of this running in the heat will pay off in the end, because at this time, its dreadful, but I know it will be beneficial.  

Quote of the Day:

“Be stronger than your excuses.”

Friday: 6 Miles  (53:47)

With the concert in St. Louis planned for this weekend I had to make sure I was getting my runs in prior to departure.  I spend Friday morning at the gym with Stephanie, Stephen, and Jen, stomping along and trying to stay focused to get the 6 miles in. I found that as my speed increased, the distance on my Garmin watch didn’t necessarily stay consistent with the treadmill.  The pace and distance both were much slower on my watch. So while the numbers below reflect the watch tracking, I must admit the treadmill had me moving much more quickly. But regardless, I was able to get 6 miles in and then feel the satisfaction of the hydro massage bed that Planet Fitness offers. If I could find one of these at a reasonable price, I would most certainly purchase one for home!

Quote of the Day:

“One life, just one. Why aren’t we running like we are on fire towards our wildest dreams.”

 

Sunday: 8 Miles (1:14:08)

I thought this quote was fitting for today. As the miles slowly passed this morning, I reflected over this journey and where I have come in the last 13 weeks as a runner. I have found that in the quiet moments in my mind, which are far and few between, I have the greatest sense of clarity and can truly be reflective and honest with myself.  Thought Ashley and I didn’t really talk much, it was nice to get the run in this morning.  With the sunrise in front of us I had the opportunity to think about the process and the time that I have committed to attempting to reach my goals. Training has really required me to step back and identify what is truly important to me as well as identify things in my life that I need to do a better job of eliminating as they no longer hold a purpose. At times, situational events have kept me from working towards my goals and while my goals are my own, I know that others have similar and goals and being competitive, I want to reach my first, I also know others are watching me, some silent, others not, and as is reality some are hoping that I don’t succeed, which leads right back to my quote, if I am not doing something daily to help me get better day by day, I am sacrificing the gift I have been given. With that perspective, it puts events in your life in a completely different context.

Quote of the Day:

“Ask yourself if what you are doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow.”

Final Thoughts:

As they say, all streaks must eventually come to an end. With the concert in St. Louis this weekend, I wasn’t able to get a run in Saturday, ending my consecutive running days streak at 14. During that time, I was able to log a total of 101 miles and average 7.2 miles a day. In total I was able to accumulate 36 miles and total 477 miles after 13 weeks of training.  I have also began to think about the possibility of running a marathon, prior to my marathon in Baltimore. I need to really reflect over this and pray for guidance, but i am intrigued at the opportunity to test my ability beforehand and put myself in a situation where i have to run a race solo rather than with a group as that will be the case in Baltimore.

Baltimore Marathon Training Week 12

Monday: 3 Miles  (27:24)

After the long run Saturday, coupled with the 6 miler Sunday, I woke up this morning with quite a bit of discomfort on the ball of my left foot. The most intelligent thought would be to rest, ice, and take anti-inflammatories to help with the swelling.  Well, I got ⅔ of that correct, and if you guessed the piece I missed was rest, winner, winner, chicken dinner. Ashley and I ventured out on a run Monday evening and I was quickly reminded of why I said I should have taken the rest day that was scheduled for today.  The scenery was nice, lots of newly constructed homes and modern designs with all sorts of amenities that made me want to stop and stare, my foot however consistently kept reminding me it was there, even as I tried to block it out.  Though I am not impressed with the time at all, I am happy that I was able to knock out 3 miles and continue to increase my mileage with training.  I was also appreciative that Ashley was there to remind me that I didn’t need to injury myself, though I wasn’t really in the mood to listen to it.  Needless to say, I am quite stubborn when it comes to something I don’t want to do.   

Quote of the Day:

“We run to undo the damage we’ve done to body and spirit. We run to find some part of ourselves yet discovered.”

Tuesday: 3 Miles  (23:35)

Today’s run was much needed. I haven’t done it much, but tonight I ran out of pure frustration.  With music blasting, I took off attempting to channel some inner frustrations onto my lower body to escape reality, if even for just a few minutes.  Though I had no intentions of running, I found myself out tonight thankful for the opportunity to run and reflect. The quote for tonight is fitting, I had a multitude of things to preoccupy my mind as I ran and while my foot still didn’t feel well, it was minimal compared to everything else. I have no desire to run many more like this, but looking at my splits, I am happy to say something positive came out of it tonight.

 

Quote of the Day:

“I ran to be free, I ran to avoid pain, I ran to feel pain, I ran out of love and hate and joy and anger.”

Wednesday: 5 Miles  (42:55)

The theme this week appears to be stubbornness and frustration. Yet again, my run tonight was plagued with stubbornness and frustration.  Though I was able to run negative splits, my foot constantly hurt and I continued to tell myself to keep pushing harder, though I realize now, that was not the best decision.  Thankfully, after consistent questioning, Ashley convinced me to slow down and ultimately stop. I realized today that I need to be careful with what my body can handle because my mind has become, at times, stronger than my body. While i am happy with my overall run today, I need to be certain I don’t do this often and put myself at risk of injury that could take me off my feet for a period of time.  Stubbornness, it is my nemesis.  

  

Quote of the Day:

“As a breed, runners are a pretty gutsy bunch. We constantly push ourselves to discover limitations, then push past them.”

Thursday: 5 Miles  (40:02)

After 3 days of less than stellar performances, I was floored by today’s run. Stephanie and I took off at a rapid pace, compared to the other runs this week and each mile seemed to become easier.  My foot was fine, I experienced little discomfort and it showed as our splits decreased each mile with the last being faster than I have ran in quite some time.  It is incredible how much one day can make a difference, well that and religious doses of ibuprofen. It also didn’t hurt that I had purchased new shoes for my run, making it seem at times as though I had pillows for shoes, It’s incredible what a new pair of shoes can do for your feet.

Quote of the Day:

“Today is not just another day. It’s a new opportunity, another chance, a new beginning, embrace it.”

Friday: 5 Miles  (43:51)

The treadmill… I had missed my old electronic friend and due to thunderstorms, met up the beast early Friday morning.  I was excited to see how well my watch calibrated to being indoors and I was pleasantly surprised to see that through it all, the distance was off less than one tenth for the duration of my run.  Though I managed a less than stellar time, I was glad to get the mileage in and continue my streak of consecutive days running.  (7 days if you are counting)  

Quote of the Day:

“Start strong, stay strong, and finish strong by always remembering why you’re doing it in the first place.”

Saturday: 12 Miles  (1:41:31)

With my runs this week being hit and miss, I was not completely optimistic that today’s run would go according to plan.  At 6 am, 6 of us took off with the temperature in the upper 50’s and clear skies.  Ashley and I took little time to find our stride and the miles quickly began to fly by. Though there wasn’t much conversation, the cooler weather helped immensely and after the first warm up mile, the next several flew by at a much faster pace than usual.  As we came to meet up with the 7 am group, Ashley had said she wanted to run the last few miles at a much slower pace. (Unspoken rule, runners don’t run slower when they say that!!!)

After pushing off with the 7 am group, Robert, Ryan, Ashley and I all found our stride and we quickly moved back into our pace from earlier in the morning. I found myself striding out better with Ryan and though we fell behind Ashley and Robert, our pacing was great. (Ryan logged 21 miles which was impressive at that pace) Overall, I was happy with my run looking back at the splits. With an 8:27 average, I finished feeling good and not completely exhausted which was reassuring after the week that I had of running. With one more long run planned in two weeks, my goal is to be committed to this pace and see how my body responses. I have given some thought to running a marathon that weekend, Quad Cities to be exact, but I am still leary of how I will do and if I will hurt myself in the process. I have two weeks to figure that out and who knows, maybe it will be my best marathon yet, only time will tell.

  

Quote of the Day:

“It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where yo are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.”

Sunday: Plaza 10K (1:04:56) 4 Miles  (29:47)

For several weeks, Jennifer has been training for this race.  She had set a goal of 1 hour in which she would finish, which I later found out was a mere 25 minutes better than her last 10k.  I knew the pacing we needed to keep for the race, it was simply a matter of whether Jennifer believed that she could achieve the goal she set out for herself.  Overall, the course and the scenery were amazing.  The temperature was ideal and though there was a large crowd, I loved people watching, especially back in the pack.  Jennifer did a fantastic job and though she didn’t break the mark she had set for herself, she did set a new PR and for that, that is all that matters.  We made it nearly the entire race without stopping to walk, but even after our moment of walking 5.3, Jennifer did a great job of finishing the race strong.  From the girl that could barely make it 1.5 miles, to the girl that now can run miles at a time without stopping, Jennifer is proof that when you want something bad enough, you are willing to push past your comfort zone to achieve what you ultimately desire. Great work, Jennifer!    

After spending the morning at breakfast with Jennifer and Ashley and meeting my Fellows to plan for the week, I decided that I needed to go push myself a little harder and do my own version of “Speed Work”.  I decided to run 1 mile loops at my fastest pace and did so until I hit a pace under 7 minutes.  Though I was not a fan of the looping, I did enjoy the competition of trying to shave seconds off my time digging deep after the race this morning to see what i still had left in me.  I still have a few goals that I haven’t met yet that I have kept to myself, with runs like these, I believe I can reach them, I just need to find time to fit in more speed work to push my body out of its comfort zone and continue to see what I can do.  

Quote of the Day:

“People need to learn that their actions do affect other people. So be careful what you say and do, its not always just about you."

Final Thoughts:

With 441 miles of total training behind me, I would like to say that this week was exciting, but it wasn’t.  There was a substantial amount of ups and downs and running was my outlet, though consequently it resulted in a minor setback with my foot.  I was scheduled to log 26-33 miles this week, but instead I accumulated nearly 45 miles, making this one of the highest weeks of training, though it was clearly not a long mileage week.  In addition, I have ran now for 9 consecutive days without taking a day off and honestly at this point, I am nervous to take a day off, though certain parts of my body could use it.

I also realized that within my training plan, I will complete my “plan” a week ahead of schedule, which is requiring me to rethink which week I will replicate to extend my training out.  Part of me wants to scrap the whole plan and just run, but I also know that i need consistency as I am not experienced enough yet to truly know what I should and shouldn’t be doing.

After Baltimore, I am simply going to run, I don’t want to fixed on a plan, but I also don’t want to kill myself by training incorrectly.  I am not to the point that i can log double digit runs multiple times a week, but I also know that mileage of 2-3 miles a day are becoming a thing of the past. Stay tuned to see where this week leads me, I am optimistic it will be much better than the last!

Baltimore Marathon Training Week 11

Tuesday: 6 Miles  (46:58)

My alarm went off at 4:15 and I was mentally prepared to get to the LBT and conquer the 6 mile trek. As I rolled out of bed however, a flash of light welcomed me as I opened the door and was followed by a thundering crack that echoed through my neighborhood.  While i absolutely love thunderstorms, running in them isn’t necessary the best choice, though I am sure I would have ran much more quickly.  I spent the next 10 minutes arguing with myself to not go back to bed and put myself together to go to the gym. While I argued with myself, Abby, my dog, continued to watch me pace back and forth almost asking what was wrong as she herself faded in and out of consciousness.  After deliberation in my own head, I gathered myself got in the car and proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes in the car convincing myself that I could run 6 miles on the treadmill. It has been weeks since I have ran on a treadmill, so to say that I was thrilled for this event this morning would be a complete and utter lie.  However, once I was able to get settled in, I quickly found myself increasing my speed and with a half-hearted effort trying to watch ESPN hoping it would keep my mind off staring at the mileage on the treadmill.  Though i started out rough, my speed at the end tilted between low 7’s and high 6’s and I finished with an average pace of 7:49, by far my fastest in quite some time.  So maybe there is some relevance in treadmill work, but I still can’t get over staring at a TV and feeling like a hamster in a wheel, at least I don’t appear to look like the heavty hamster anymore. (Silver Lining)    

Quote of the Day:

“Sometimes, we need to be hurt in order to grow.  We must lose in order to gain.  Sometimes, some lessons are learned best through pain.”

Wednesday: 8 Miles (1:04:50)

With yesterday’s pace on my mind, I wanted to see what I could maintain with an 8 miler on tap this evening. Ashley was generous enough to map out a route that would lead us to the Wednesday night running event at Legacy Park. With time being a factor and wanting to establish a “tempo” style run, we ran the first 4 miles at a relatively quick pace, well fast for me, probably typical for Ashley. (My friends run faster than I do and i am ok with this.) The course was “flat” she said, but the hills we ran up looked more like those that you see as you enter Branson, might be a bit sarcastic but hey, it’s my story.

It was neat to see everyone that brought their pups out to this evenings event and it made me think of Abby. She is a coonhound and needless to say she does more tracking than running when I take her out, watching everyone else run with their dogs, I appreciated the time they had taken to train their dogs because could successfully run a 5k in a matter of 1 mile with the amount of back and forth running that she does when we try to run together. Overall, it was a great evening and looking at our overall pace, this is the fastest that I have been able to run an 8 miler up to this point. Though I was winded by the end, I still feel like I have some left in the tank. Let’s hope I can still say that Saturday!

Below is the breakdown of my splits for each mile:

Mile 1: 8:23

Mile 2: 7:51

Mile 3: 7:35

Mile 4: 7:36

Mile 5: 8:08

Mile 6: 8:37

Mile 7: 8:23

Mile 8: 8:13

Overall Time: 1:04:50 & 8:06 Pace

Quote of the Day:

“In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time.”

Saturday: 22 Miles ( 3:09:24 )

After much deliberation, I decided that I would splurge and purchase a new Garmin watch. My old 910 had been phenomenal, but I wanted the new application features that updated models offer as it has always been a hassle to scroll through my watch or waste time syncing to my computer when I could have an app that made everything readily available to analyze on the go.  So with an 18 month financing offer, I walked straight into Nebraska Furniture Mart bought the new Garmin 735XT.  I will eventually write up a review on this watch, but needless to say, I feel like one of the cool kids now that doesn't have a stone-age watch. :)

So the run today I knew would have its difficulties, but I didn’t believe the first difficulty would occur before I could even take off. Arriving at 4:30, yes am., to Gusto’s in Lee’s Summit, I was ready to get in at least 22 miles.  After sharing that I purchased a new watch and showed it off to a few, we were on our way, the problem was, my fancy new watch was too techy for me to even find the “begin” button.  A half mile later, Stephanie had figured out how to get it to the run feature and by pass the other 5 thousand features it offers and I was finally ready to track my mileage.  

The first few miles felt like the normal long run day, gathering my thoughts, focusing on my body, and regulating my breathing to find my “stride” as the miles began to pile up.  By the 6th mile, I was beginning to fall into the "auto-pilot" mode and I noticed that my pacing again began dip well below the projected split I initially set for Baltimore.  I found myself backing off my pace at mile 10 as I dipped into the 8:10’s pace and settled in for the next several miles at or around an 8:36 pace.  Ironically, out of the 22 miles this week, I ran in the 8:30’s for 10, below 8:30's for 5, and never going above an 8:54 besides the first warm-up mile. I thought about this a lot after my run today. My goal will be to maintain that average pacing for the first half of the race, within 8:30's, feel out my body and determine if that pace will be maintained in the 2nd half of the race, or if I feel I can knock a few seconds off and move into the 8:20’s for the last half and push even harder towards the end. It is all a blur at this point as I try to determine my “race pace” and normal pace, because at this time, I don't feel they are much different. I know in shorter races I can give extra, but I also know that the mileage is almost over as soon as it begins, 26.2 miles is a little different and I refuse to have a DNF for a marathon, I will walk, limp, and crawl if I have to to finish, but I would prefer to avoid that option.     

  

Quote of the Day:

“I am willing to fail, to put everything on the line without any guarantee of success, to lose everything to succeed.”

Sunday: 6 Miles (52:59)

Today’s run was not easy. Waking up this morning after running 22 miles the day before, my body wanted nothing to do with the road. I knew I needed to put in the miles though and i was prepared to run with Jennifer as this was her last long run prior to the Plaza 10k which takes place next Sunday.  Unfortunately, Jennifer had not been feeling well, but I was already mentally prepared to tackle 6 miles.  Stephanie was also ready and thankfully, she was there to help push me through the mileage today.  Sometimes, just having someone else there to run with, that you know wants to run is enough to keep you going. In part, I didn’t want to stop, we could have gone 8 or more, but I knew my body had wanted to quit at 2, so I had to push through.  Thankfully, Stephanie is patient, and after her 83 mile week from before, crazy I know, 6 miles was enough to get her new week of mileage started.  The running group was small, but it was a great run overall, time to begin the day with the sun rising and calming sounds of nature always make the runs pleasing, but also exhausting.

Quote of the Day:

"You are only as strong as you tell yourself. You can and can't do what you allow your mind to believe, it's really that simple. "

Final Thoughts:

Last week I was excited to say that I would break into the “400 Mile Club” but that didn’t happen this week.  Though i was close, 396, I haven’t quite break 400.  My training this week was erratic.  I didn’t follow my plan and because of that, I was unable to hit the mark that I had mentally set for myself.  I did however run into my first real “pain” this weekend.  After running Sunday, I found that the ball of my left foot was slightly swollen and it was difficult to walk on it afterwards.  It felt like a bruise, but on my bone itself.  I am not good with resting, actually i am terrible at resting. In the same moment that the pain is excruciating, I also find a weird sort of bliss in it all.  The quote has always been “pain is weakness leaving the body” and maybe it’s true. But it also helps me remove some of the internal “pain” you might say and displace it to something else and in those moments it’s released and almost liberating.  I do need to be careful to ensure that my body can withstand the constant thrashing that I am making it endure, but with others doing much more than I, I know that my body can take it, if it can’t, I know it will knock me off my feet and that threshold I have yet to find, secretly, I may be looking for it, flirting with it if you may, because I want to see what I can endure.  The test of mind over body is invigorating.