Week Six - Rebound

Mileage (miles per workout): 4 - 5 - 4 - 11

What goes up must come down.  Only in my case it was what goes down must come up.  My runs needed to go well this week.  My crash last week meant if I were to complete any runs this week, especially the long one at the end of the week, then I felt I really was strong enough to do this and I am a marathon runner.

Using a personal saying, "Inspiration Dedication Determination”, I know this has been the best week in terms of running.  My concentration was one piece which allowed me to do my runs.  I focused on every aspect of my running one piece at a time.  Before I realized I was exerting any effort I only had half a lap to go.  This happened on more than one occasion.  The best part was the concentration was mostly internal.  I could take it anywhere I wanted and apply it to anything.

This proved most helpful in the mornings when there weren’t a bunch of people to watch.  I am now a morning runner.  The heat of the day made it almost unbearable to run in the late afternoon/early evening.  I am not a morning person.  But I became one much the same as I was not a runner and I am now a marathon runner.  The truth is every time I say I’m running a marathon I am amazed.  Sometimes I just amaze myself.  I’ll leave it at that.

Waking up before sunrise and participating in any athletic activity was the last thing I thought I would find myself doing.  It does have advantages.  The first being my skin is less likely to burn.  I have fantastic pale Irish skin that burns if I even think of going outside.  Tanning is out of the question.  The last would be I’m sunshy.  My eyes are extremely sensitive to light.  Some days it’s even hard to sit in a room with lights on.  You could even say that’s how my nocturnal tendencies arose.  I don’t own a lamp.

My next marathon should be a midnight marathon.  Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.  I’ll keep the focus on training for this marathon.  But I can see myself running in some sort of capacity after this experience is over.  I’ve been told in many of my classes throughout college if you do something 21 times it becomes habit.  This week crossed that threshold.  Thinking back I don’t really remember what it was like not to run on a consistent basis.  Running is now habit and a good habit as well.  Unlike my chicken nugget fiasco of 2004.  I will run and nothing can stop me.  I’m going to be selfish about this one.

Things I learned this week:

First: Headphones block people out.  I’d rather let people in.

Last: Instead of a running song, I tried a running poem.  I said each syllable in rhythm with my feet and kept the same pace throughout the entire run.  This especially helped when I pushed myself to run a bit faster than normal.

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Continue reading - Week Seven