Eat My Dust

WYIRUN... adaptation...from clear roads, to 10 degrees, to snowy/ icy roads, back to clear roads. 

From Tahoe...

to 5 hrs. traveling via car, plane and bus and then 4 hrs. in Denver traffic over two snowy, icy passes and my first words in the door, "I want a long coat, one to hit the ground."( CHRISTMAS PRESENT, hint hint ?!?)  No, 'hey love' or 'good to see you,' my thoughts were on the amount of degrees it had dropped since I left and amount of inches of snow that had accumulated on the ground. Harumph.

Workouts:

11/5: 3x3 Mile @ 6:40. Anticipation plagued me again, but I beat it and it feels so right! Mile by mile, I ticked them off circling a flat-ish lake in Reno, NV. It was about a mile radius and fulfilled my running desires. Some tell me about all of these intricate trails I should see and all I want is a flat, asphalt repetitive loop. Nothing like putting in the work before a flight to sit back and relax. There were times where I wanted to stop but I wanted to hit this so bad. I was due for a good one and knew I had it in me.

11/7: The snow was accumulating and has since melted off. I hopped on a treadmill for a steady run; one just tire out the legs before the long run. I thought I could manage a 6:40-7:20 on the machine because these paces outside are awesome. But, noooo... the dang treadmill feels like I am running 5:00 min/mile pace and uphill the whole time. I am determined to get to the bottom of this. I feel as though my treadmill is inclined and the pace is off, but after 'google,' it could be a whole slew of reasons. 

11/9: 16 Miles with 10-15 at Tempo. I ran out the Hwy for some flatter ground and tried to stick to it, but it was hard. I managed to feel good about the effort and ended up participating in my first weight lifting session ever with another couple on campus. My arms don't know about this. 

11/10: A Bicycle ride, maybe the last one. The temps are heating back up, for now. 

I have been reading RUN which has gotten me thinking a lot about the mental side of the sport, which plays a large role. There are ways to 'train your brain' which I have been using as a mantra as I dig deeper in some of the intervals that I have been doing. It is definitely helpful to repeat a phrase as you push harder and 'training the brain' is just what you are doing. One piece of the mental side where I struggle is, the focus. I let my mind wander which decreases my effort level as I am not concentrating on engaging the full body. I notice paces are faster and perhaps less perceived effort when I am zoned in on each stride. This may be a factor which separates elites from those working our way up the ladder. Their mind-body connection enforces the perpetual motion and tolerates complete focus which in turn allows them to train through the brain inhibitors. 

In my mind, everything running is a metaphor for life and this is no different. In a race, you get tired and feel like there is nothing left and have convinced yourself that this is true. But wait, you see the finish line and voila, the legs turn over, speed increases and thoughts of not having energy left dissipate into the dust left behind you. As my week endures, I have added tasks of 'on-duty'

This guy prevented me from getting to my car this morning...