It's all mental from now until Freescale
After the "bar" ate me in the Runtex 20-miler (see below), I decided some changes were in order. Not too drastic of a change, as many didn't finish and may said it was their toughest race. I did decide to up the mileage as the thirties weren't cuttin' it, even though there was a 30-mph wind at the 20-miler.
Yesterday, I put in a good workout at the gym. I did some extra machines to get chest and core worked out. I was hurtin' today. Not necessarily from the gym. I always feel that. This was different. Something I ate yesterday at the elementary school or cooked last night. I suspect it was the spinach, as the same spinach sent the bunny to the vet for two days and $500 worth of enemas and drugs. It hit me in the middle of the night. Severe stomach cramps, followed by a trip to the library, and another, and another. No sleep last night and the stomach pains lasted into Saturday. I tried to lay down but there were constant interruptions from the phone or the doorbell. Since the one thing I said I'd work on was the mental aspect of training, I decided I needed to buckle up and get out for a run. I'd either puke in the first lap or it would do me good.
I made my way to the Bowie track, already determined to do mile repeats for as long as I could hold out. Surprisingly, I was the only one on the track. No dyslexic runners, no soccer teams, no post-season football players, and no new year resolution folks. They've been at the track in droves, but have been seeing more of the couch lately, than the track.
I warmed up and then stretched. I was stiffer and more sore than normal. It was nice to have the whole track to myself. I started in with a half mile jog. I was stiff and my core was definitely sore. I thought I could at least hold on for a couple mile repeats. Mental....right.
As with most runs, the first mile either feels great or sucks. Today of course it sucked. I jogged a 400-meter slow jog in between the miles. My watch must've been cuttin' me some slack as the first mile came in at 8:14. How could I feel bad and have a time like that? The rest was as follows.
8:14, 2:56, 8:51, 3:18, 8:54, 4:06, 8:43, 3:54, 8:29, 4:13, 8:29, 2:51 Total 1:13:03 + .5 mile warm up and + .5 cool down
Outside of the first mile, the last two came in negative to the rest. I felt better as I went along and probably made me feel better. The temp was in the seventies, with low humidity, but there was the "bar" wind at 5-10 mph, gusting to 15. I went mental on it and tried to run the wind side of the track faster than the other side. I think it worked. I thought more about the mental aspect of running and it is defintely something I need to incorporate more of. Five weeks to go until Freescale. Time enough to get images formed and ready to go.
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