Back on Track.

I ran with Pam this morning. What a change in the weather! We went from 87F this past weekend to overcast and 60's this morning. Never the less, I still ran in my shorts, but I did wear a long sleeve shirt under my regular t-shirt and was glad I did. It's funny that I can almost always wear shorts and the cold doesn't bother me, but if my arms, back, stomach or chest are cold it's all over. Anyway, long story short, it was the perfect running weather and I wore the correct attire which is half the battle.

Instead of just carrying water with me today, I prepared electrolyte drinks and chomps for both Pam and I. Any time we have run 6 miles I have run out of gas half way and struggled to get back, so this morning I ate and entire protein bar (20g protein), drank some coconut water and prepared my running snack. We planned to run 8 miles today and so I needed to be ready.

When we got to our usual turn-around point (for a 6 mile run) we were both feeling strong and decided that we were good  to add another mile before turning around. Once we reached mile four we stopped to stretch, eat and rehydrate for a few minutes. The electrolyte drink really helped to make me feel like I could just keep running. Although I noticed that both of my knees were feeling a little stiff so I focused on stretching them out.

Then we turned around and ran the 4 miles back. I was surprised at how good I felt. We did walk for a few minutes at mile 6 but then ran the rest of the way. We completed the run in 01:34:48 which was really good considering that it was the first time in a long time that we have both ran that far.

My knees were a little achy at the end of the run and it hurt for me to step down, but after my shower and after resting for a while they felt better. Tomorrow I plan to hit the treadmill for 30-45 minutes and do a little bit of strength training. I am hoping to do a long run again on Friday. But I need to remember to listen to my body. I am hoping that this long run has put me back on track for my 10 mile race in a month :)  I know I wont be 100% ready, but I want to know that I will at least finish!

Anyways, Onwards and Upwards fellow runners!

Becoming more mentally tough.

I haven't had much time to blog in the past few weeks, but I have had time to workout! Despite having three jobs, I have found that there is almost always time, even if it's just a quick 30 minute run. Heck, sometimes it's only a 20 minute run, but guess what ... it's better than absolutely no workout at all.

Yesterday Josh and I hit the treadmills, side by side. Lately I have taken to using the 'Trail Blazer" setting. I enter the maximum speed and maximum incline and it varies both for the amount of time that I entered. Lately I have been doing a maximum speed of 5.5mph, a maximum incline of 2.5 for 30 minutes. On days when I am not working, I try to do 45-60 minutes.
When I was on the treadmill yesterday I wanted to quit after just 5 minutes because I was so mentally and physically exhausted from having worked all day. But once I got past the 10 minute 'brick wall' (a psychological mind-set which tries to get me to give up), I am good for the 30 minutes. The 'brick wall' will try to creep in from time to time, but once you get in the rhythm, it's hard to stop  :)
I think that being able to fight that 'brick wall' is proof that I am growing mentally. I am developing a toughness that helps me push past the difficult moments and continue so that I can succeed. In turn, that success makes me feel more confident in my running, which in turn develops my mental toughness even more.
If I can keep growing mentally, it will become easier to push past the 'weathers' when I start running outside. I don't have much tolerance for the cold, or wind or heavy rain (hahaha, wow!), and so that is something new I will need to learn to push past. Once I am dealing with that stuff, there will be no time to battling with the running 'brick wall'. There will be enough to deal with when it comes to the 'weathers brick walls'!

Anyway, I have a day off work today and so I must run! Happy Running!!!