Free yourself

Today is absolutely gorgeous!

So was yesterday. Luke and I left for a three-mile run at 11am and it was perfect.

Clear blue skies. Fresh air. Cool breeze.

The weather reminded me of San Diego.

MapMyRun called out my distance and time every half mile.

Damn that time!

Regardless of what I do, I just can’t seem to pick up my pace.

Reflecting in the shower, I realized that since I often run with Luke I have no clue what’s my ‘new’ regular pace time. Stupidly, I have been comparing current Natalie with the Natalie of three years ago.

The Natalie who weighed less, was in better physical (and mental) condition, got plenty of rest, etc.

I remember my best (fastest) half-marathon was the Flying Pig in Cincinnati. The course is notorious for its hills. So, during my training I removed all pressure from me by running without a watch. I ran the distance and if I finished it, then my goal was met.

Period.

I need to get back that. We all need to get back to that kind of thinking. There is nothing wrong with wanting to better ourselves and beat our PR (personal record), but there’s also value—freedom, some might say—in running without regard to time.

After all, just by committing ourselves to run a 15K we are already beating millions of people who don’t even bother to take a brisk walk after dinner or take the stairs vs. elevator or park at the far end of the parking lot.

We set a PR every day that we run.

A mental game

I thought I only had 6 miles in me for my long run this week, but managed to complete 10 miles. I could have gone for more, but stopped so as not to overtrain and end up injuring myself... again.

The cool weather was perfect and even managed to pick off 3 runners. I was thrilled! I had a very different feeling going into the run though.

Woke up with no energy. Got dressed, had 4 oz. of full fat yogurt, followed by 4 oz. of fruit juice and I was off 30 minutes later. I had already told myself I'm only doing 6 miles and so I didn't have to plan for refueling during the run. Even 3 miles into the run, I still thought I would stop at 6 miles. However, between miles 4 and 6, I had talked myself into going on for 10 miles. The one thing that turned things around for me was coming to terms with the fact that I won't have a choice on race day, so why am I giving into these "quitting" thoughts. I must make it to the finish line and it's at 9.3 miles, not 6. It also helped that by mile 6, the run was feeling "sweet". So I ran on...

At the end, I felt great because I was able to resist the thought of quitting and I accomplished a new goal. In addition, I completed it with no need to refuel and recovered within 30 minutes and was able to go on with my busy day. No aches, no pains, no nausea, no nothing. It was one of the best runs I have had to date. So pumped for race day... bring it!

Please, adjust climate control

I normally do a courtesy run before a food-o-rama holiday and today was no different.

I hoped to run solo, but Luke wanted to go. Fine. I grabbed treats, water and we were off. Problem was I run slower pushing the jogger and my 25lb toddler. And, it was 72 degrees outside per my phone. Personally, it felt more like 80.

True to form, Luke was out before two miles. There was little road traffic so I could like to my TAL podcast without ear plugs. Pace was horrible. Posture was not cute. But, I kept moving and met my goal. It was a courtesy run after all ...

Four miles.

Check.

Let's eat! And, Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah to all!

It's better with a partner and no excuses

Last nite I slept less than four hours. So, it didn't take much to get me out of the mindset of running. But then Mathdany prepared to run on campus at the end of the work day. I told her if she could wait for Luke to arrive from his grandparents, then we'd run with her. What a win-win it proved to be for all of us!

Luke slept most of the way and was very well behaved. Mathdany said she was pushed to run faster and with shorter walk breaks than usual. And, I got in a run that I surely would have passed on had I just left work. It have two points and hopefully they will encourage us to press on over the holiday break. We all have excuses why we shouldn't do it--hungry, fatigue, better things to do, family obligations, etc. But, usually if you can press on and just do it you will feel so good about your accomplishment afterwards. My second point is to get a partner. Even if you can only run with someone once a week, you will probably get outside of your comfort zone and do something that you wouldn't have done on your own.

So, over the break--no excuses (not even snow, Dave) and find a partner to run, jog, plod along with in 2012!