Long Run - Race Training Report

Sunday was a long run day and today was routine so I will not worry you with routine, but Sunday was long...really long...I basically ran a 10k. Now many people may see that and cringe, but I see it as an opportunity to test myself for my long range goal of a half-marathon. Well then, that is not such a long run, it was basically half of a half and that is nothing. That being said I want to direct your attention to the glass half full approach to this run.

Like most things in life you can be a downer or an upper. I try real hard to be an upper, even when I don't feel it, I figure so many other people have problems why bother them with mine. Well, I could go on about this, but as noted in the past I feel that running helps me to clear my head and center my thoughts, and it does, but when that fails I have to remind myself to keep "my side of the street clean". What does that mean you ask? Well, some AA friends of mine explain it like this: I have to do what is best for me and you can get on board or try to junk up my side of the street. If I let your stuff get in my way I will never get where I am going. Pretty good right? I mean what does a runner hate more than having to go around things and artificially extend a run...ugh!

That being said I am talking about a major shift for many people and that is because their Eeyore side has taken over and maybe they are not taking as good care of themselves emotionally, spiritually, physically, relationally, whatever and that stuff drowns out their Tigger (if you know anything of Pooh Bear you know the analogy I am attempting to draw). Now as a counselor I often tell people to fake it till the make it with their emotions, because despite what you would be lead to believe it is way harder to break an Eeyore habit than to start a Tigger habit. Basically, Tigger takes energy and work and Eeyore lets you wallow in and meet your daily goal of sorrow. So, how do you keep going and keep things up and not down? How do you put one foot in front of the other day in and day out? How do you make it worthwhile when your mind and body tell you to give up? (Mine did by the way - today! My mind and body told me to stay home and sit on the couch and it was tempting).

Well I will answer the first question this way - No one makes you feel anyway if you don't give them permission. You have to start out knowing it will be a great day (even if you don't think so, tell yourself anyways, I do) and allow for bumps that don't cost you your cool. When you loose that you loose a lot...including respect and trust from others. Next question keeping in motion - well once you get started don't stop, but be clear why you started and remind yourself of that when the bed is extra warm in the winter or the rain is a little harder than you want it to be.

When that fails you need to make a change - either your motivations for doing or what it is that you do...it is OK to change like a reed in the wind, you do not always have the be the steady oak, just feel good about your choice and try not to hurt others as you change. Last question, well that is a bit trickier...if your mind and body tell you to stay away from something, or stay home to avoid something, or stay in the craziness of things,  when the healthy thing is the opposite than step back look at what brought up that dialogue (i.e. question 1) or  your motivation (i.e. question 2). Go away to center your thoughts if that is what is needed, take a time out, surround yourself with friends, family, or loved ones to make yourself recharged and whole again. Do all the things that are necessary to bring you back to your Tigger. You may have to reach far far back in your file cabinet to when that was, but once there look at what worked make the needed adjustments and make that leap. Just a word of caution when you leap make sure people know...if not they may try to tie a bungee to your butt and snap right back to where you don't want to be. This may sound simplistic, but it is supposed to be, life is not meant to be hard.

Well, that does it for now, I have a tempo run tomorrow and my mind is already telling me how much I don't like them. So, I start telling me why they are important and start making plans to do it a little different. I will let you know if it is a success.

90/10 Split

They say that when you train for anything it is 90% physical and 10% mental. That means it is all about training the body and a little about training the brain. It does not matter what you think or what you feel, what does matter is doing the exercises. I want to talk about that 90% for a long time before we get into the 10% since that is the easiest part in my opinion of any training program. Now back the physical...will it hurt? Yes. Will the pain go away? Yes. Will I possibly feel like shit for a while? Yes...but after a while when your body adjusts you will feel better so much so it may be hard to imagine not being active (vacations are allowed of course) and not engaging in the activity that has got you where you are. Maybe that makes you an endorphin junkie, but who cares. Your out there your doing that which most people would think is crazy, but at the end of the day your body responds with shaping up and being able to do things that maybe a year, a month, a week, or even the day before you thought was impossible, well that's the 90% and that is what separates you from the couch potato across the street or in the cube next to yours. You look better, you feel better, your mind and body are in greater symbiosis. Now does this mean that everyone has to run and run and run...well no duh! There are many for a number of reasons that can't and shouldn't, but that is not an excuse for making your body the best it can be and knowing when you walk around that you are the one getting the second looks because, you put pain and excuses aside and worked through cramps and soreness until your body grew accustomed, you deserve it.

Now for the mental 10% that is easy I can sum it up this way with a quote from one of my most favorite TBS movies, as an aside if I ever actually owned it I would have no idea what to do with myself, and here it is "Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory... lasts forever" - Shane Falco from the movie The Replacements. That pretty much sums up the other 10% when you are training well that and one other movie quote that has been a guiding influence for me in a lot of what I do when I want to set my mind to something and as Master Yoda to Luke Skywalker in the Empire Strikes Back "Do or do not there is no try" (honestly did you think you would get by with out at least one Star Wars quote). When I break down the 10% that really is all there is to it and I know that because in my bathroom I have strategically hung my metals from my races so far and when I see them I think about how cool it was to cross the finish line every time (a little glory) and knowing that all my training made sure it was a possibility and not an impossibility (doing and not trying).

Later as I move closer to my next 5k in a little less than a month I will talk more about when the split shifts and how to handle that, I think you will find it interesting. Oh and did I mention that I am in the process of planing my first 1/2 Marathon!!! I am totally looking forward to that and more to come on how when my OCD kicked in this week I talked myself into doing something totally nuts, but I can and will accomplish my goal...reference quotes above.

Two updates in one...

Yesterday I tried to do things a little differently, I took an easy run. I decided to not push myself too hard and settle into a slow run pace that I was used to when I first started...that is a 12 minute mile pace if your wondering. Now, I am not speed demon, but that felt slow. I mean to stay in that range I walked and walked and walked and still managed to get home at 36 minutes. In the end I forgot the fun that an easy walk/run can be and it allowed me to enjoy the outdoors. Simply put this was a mindful experience where I tried to stay in the moment and look around and not loose myself to the run and the music.

Now coming part 2...

Today I did my 400's and once again 400's are like tempo runs horriable and unsure why I do those...I mean why are those on my training calendar anyways! So, I did my 400's and I don't know what olympic speed is but I stayed aroudnd 2 min each way some were slower but none were faster. So in two weeks I will be doing 400's again and I have decided to try to break that 2 minute mark and who knows that may be the key to me becoming really strong during the 5k. I now have started to think of that as more of a sprint run since I will be starting my 1/2 marathon training in about 6 weeks. Man I am looking forward to that...oh one last point of interest I have finally put over 200 miles on my shoes. I am up to about 225 now. That means only 475 more miles to go before I get new shoes and that is going to be several posts in and of itself, that is a big big big choice.

Well that is all for now...oh one last thing I am looking for a neat tag line to sign off with any thoughts would be considered.

Test and Rest

Well, this past weekend was to be a 5k test run and I was unable due to work and vaction schedules, but I did not let that get me down. I ran on Sunday as if I was in a race and it turns out I kicked some butt on the run. Ready for this I was running an average 9:38 a mile and I never thought I would break the 10 min mile mark. I don't know what to think of all that. It was not easy and yes I was panting and hurting after the run, but it is good to puch oneself from time to time so that you know how hard and fast you can run. Now I am about a month away from my next 5k in Disney.

However, I also have to rest and I love Mondays since they are rest days on my training schedule and I am taking it easy tonight. Part of me is a little bored with the training program right now and I think I need to change scenary on my runs, but that is just part of what happens. I have also decided that I may need to change up my run list a bit and that will help break the montony. However, that is part of being mentally tough and it does allow for me to clear my head and reach a point of calm. So, it is ok if I find a blank spot as I run because it helps me to find my center. I know this may sound strange, but there is peace in the rythm of the breathing, footfalls, how the shoulders rise and fall...it is so worth the run.

Now on an unrelated note I have decided to look at what else I need to do to change my runns to increase speed and endurace. One way to do that is to loose a few pounds, so I decided to re-embrace one of my favorite dinning plans and that is the atkins high protein diet again. This will be fun and I am looking forward to get this wieght down before I run my first 1/2 marathon. I don't want you to know yet what the weight is I am looking at, but rest assured I will update you as time goes by. I will start tomorrow and we will see how it goes.

Watching what and when I eat

Rarely will I update on my mobile, but I felt this was a good test subject. Lately I have been going running an hour after eating and that ia not always a good idea. I am really struggling in the runs lately and I believe that it is a number of factors as detailed in my previous posts. This one could be the most important.


When in training monitor your calories and what you actually eat. Running tonight after a dinner of leftover chicken and pork chops, along with various snaks while warming up dinner, ruined my training run.

I don't need to run totally empty, but eating a full dinner and waiting an hour is not conducive when I run for time. So remember that training is the act of prep, but it is also day to day reinforcement for success otherwise you can slip and create reasons for failure.

Tempo runs are not fun

OK, what are tempo runs? Tempo runs are where you run for an indeterminate distance for a set amount of time while doing warm up run, 80% effort run, and cool down run. Now this is why they are not fun for me...I have a hard time with a long warm up and then to run at 80% what does that mean? and a cool down? I don't get it, the training plan tells me to listen to my body and run accordingly. My body likes having a set mileage to go and let me run and run fast. Well, I ran about two miles tonight doing a tempo run and I am not sure if I did it correctly, but I listened to my body. My body and my mind were not 100% into the tempo I can feel myself wearing down a little on the training schedule and that means I need to get mentally tough and re-frame my brain. I remind myself that half of the good feeling that comes from completion is pushing when you have no motivation to push. It has been a long time since I have hit a physical wall and at times those can be the easier ones to over come.

What a run? or was it walk?

It is important to listen to your body when you train. I know that from personal experience. When you don't it can hurt you and your training experience. Tonight was a prime example - as I ran it occurred to me that I hurt. My ankles, knees, lungs, all of it and probably the most important warning sign was that I could feel my left calf mussel knotting up. Now this means that as I ignored my body the louder it talked, yelled, and hit me to let me know that I was doing too much.

So, I stopped and walked and walked and walked and then ran more. It was a horrible training run, but I had to keep up with the calender. It also made me realize that I had to change a lot of  things about how I treat my body. Least of which is hydrate, stretch and rest. Well, in reflection I am now going to hydrate, stretch and later rest.

I think that rest is the part that is hardest on me, I feel everyday that things are left undone so I stay up later to get them done, but maybe it is more about organizing my time away from the family better so that my time with the family is better...hmmm now there is a thought, lets see how this plays out.

Speaking of undone things I need to start making headway on my Motivational Interview book...

Runner Notebook

     I have just returned from a very long conference in Marietta. It was an important conference in order for me to keep my license so I can continue to work with people that need therapy and other types of help.

                                                                   This is where I stayed

     Well, since this is about my running and not about work let me get to the reason every one reads this blog. I did manage to keep to a schedule while at the conference. I got my three miles in on Thursday, but unfortunately it was on a treadmill, so no real challenge there. I took Friday off in accordance with the schedule. I did manage to get out for a few minutes Friday and do some sight seeing, so it was not a total rest day. I went to a local Confederate Cemetery. Now, if you don't know me that well, I truly love history. It is a passion I have had for years and I have been somewhat neglectful of that aspect of my life. When I got to the cemetery and began to walk around and read the writings of "Mattie" a woman who for the majority of her life was part of the women's club that maintained the cemetery. The best part was she lived to be over 90 years of age and was alive when the Civil War was taking place and her due diligence over the course of her lifetime to a cause and a people she loved and believed in spoke to me. I felt as if there was an electricity running all over my body as i read her story and the story that was etched into so many makers. I was so energized and made me remember how much I miss being connected to the history of my state and nation.

This is the nice lady who kept the journal for all generations

     However, I took that energy and thirst for history and on Saturday channeled it into a 4 mile run up and down Kennesaw Mountain. Now two things to keep in mind, in South Georgia there are no mountains and mountains go up the whole way....I know THE WHOLE WAY! That is until they go down and down is better. Well the run was exhausting and I have been having some cramps since returning home, my legs ache, but it was totally worth it as you can see from the picture the views were phenomenal. Not to mention the smells and sounds that were a feast for the ears and nose. There was so much honeysuckle that almost the entire run had an amazing sweet smell to it that was intoxicating. I heard bugs, squirrels, a doe (and saw it) while running. I had such a good run up the mountain, that I decided to hiking back up the mountain to further enjoy the mountain and look up on some of the most amazing views and of course look at how the mountain battlefield played such a role in the defense of Atlanta.

This was the view of Atlanta and Stone Mountain from Kennesaw Mountain. You can not see it well with my camera, but you could see it so well with your eyes. Amazing

I will not fool you the run time on Saturday is deceiving because going the mountain was so much easier. Over all the runs were good and the outside walking and exploring were a great way to blow off some of the frustration of a conference that did not live up to expectations. Well that concludes this entry. Tomorrow it is time to get back on the program. I will probably be doing a bit more running this week than planned to make up two missed runs from last week on my travel days, but that was a cost I was willing to pay.

As a side note, one of the best things about heading to the mountainous north is I get to visit two great Georgia land marks.

First The Varsity - No explanation Needed

The other was the Big Chicken - Yes it is a KFC, but where else in the world is there a BIG CHICKEN!

Yes I ate at both of these places with no feelings of guilt what so ever. Were you not paying attention, I RAN A MOUNTAIN AND HIKED THE SAME MOUNTAIN ON THE SAME DAY!!!!

Runners Notebook

Today was my first day back after a recovery day (read as rest) and man was I going slow. I mean I lost a full minute off my run. I am not really worried about it, because I ran in the rain and drizzle and that makes me look hard core. It was a pleasant run, but I knew it was going to be a while, it took me 5 minutes to get to the red light. Five minutes, was I even moving? Well during the run I felt good and had a great pace. I then started having thoughts and basically I decided that one of the best parts of my entire day was the enormous FULL rainbow that I saw for the majority of my trip to the starting block. All the colors were present it was amazing and that was when I thought to myself - I really enjoy and need those runs it helps me sweat, feel good, and allows me to compete against my greatest rival - the clock! Ah what a great evening run. Now I am going to go and nurse my sore hip-flexer. ouch ouch ouch....

Long Run - Race Training Report

The following transcript is from a new feature called the Race Training Report:

Reporter: I am getting ready to interview the anchor of Team Davis...So, Steven tell how you feel about your training run today?

Steven: We here at Team Davis ran a good practice.

Reporter: You appeared to have a strong start, but there were some problems around miles 3 or 4?

Steven: True, it was a strong start and the equipment was working well at the start until the heat began to wear on everything. I would say that things were going well at mile 3, we had a small need to relieve a build-up of fluid and take on some hydration. It was as mile 4 approached that things became difficult.

Reporter: I noticed that you slowed your pace and began to take on a lot of fluid, was that part of your strategy? Or were you having performance difficulty?

Steven: It was really a combination of the two, the high heat began to slow everything and fluids were needed to prevent equipment failure. It was part of the strategy to stay hidrated, but in this heat it was hard. We suffured with a very slow pace, but was able to pick up at mile 4 when the wind was at my back and their was much needed shade.

Reporter: After you finished, how did you feel about your time? Plans for managing the heat?

Steven: Well, there will difenetly be some retooling at Team Davis headquaters. Our time was ok, but better prep will lend itself to better times. As far as the heat is concerned, Team Davis will begin to look at earlier runs in the morning or later runs in the evening. We may also evaluate our training routes to ensure more coverage with shade to keep the heat down.

Reporter: OK, Thanks...Well you heard it here first folks, it looks like Team Davis has room to improve and will be looking to make changes by next Sunday's long run. We are looking forward to interviewing the members of Team Davis in the future. Back to you in the studio.