I love these ads…

what’s great about us runners…

There are no time-outs. There are no half-times. There is no intermission. There are no umpires or referees. There is no stoppage of play due to a foul. There is the start and there is the finish. We say when our time is over. We train, train and train and it is all solely up to us to continue on or to stop. There is a tremendous satisfaction in this. What a THRILL. Seriously. 

wednesday

Legs are toast. Today’s run after work in 90 degree heat should be uh….interesting.

Had a pretty good week of training, although I am still not up to 40 miles/week. The most positive thing for me is that I am feeling better mentally. it’s such a huge part of the “game”. I know that if i am mentally not well, then i’m gonna suffer.

Weather was a bit cooler which was very welcomed! I’m getting massages every other week and that has been an enormous help too. Coach/I switched up my schedule a bit for the next 2 weeks to try to get in some longer runs earlier in the week so we’ll see how that goes. Here’s what i did this past week:

June 17: 5.25 miles/tempo run/1-2min intervals/treadmill

June 18: 5 miles/51:38/10:20 pace

June 19: 4 miles

June 21: 6 miles/1:01/10:10 pace

June 22: 12.25 miles/2:05:30/10:15 pace/HILLS

Total = 32.5

Music Plays

Have found some new tunes to run to I thought I would pass along. Name of band is called TIESTO. It’s techno type music and totally gets me going, especially song titled: Olympic Flame.

Also, last night prior to going for run, dowloaded Tom Petty’s, “I Won’t Back Down”. I’m not really a fan of his voice, but I dig this tune.

Any tune ideas you want to pass along would be welcome. Have a great weekend all.

Who needs the French?

As you might recall, I ran 12 miles last Sunday on the treadmill while watching the French Open men’s final. It was a great way to help me stay focused. Today, there was no treadmill. Just me & the beauty of the Silver Comet Trail. It was tough though. I went out 7 and then came back  for a total of 12. I walked the last 2. I know I could’ve run the last 2 but it would have been very slow. I was happy to make 12! I didn’t even feel totally awake until about miles 3-4…and then after that point, i was in a groove. I began at 7:30am with humidity already high although temps were below 80. The best part of the week was the mileage today. Overall, my weekly mileage went down because wednesday/thursday I thought I might have been getting sick. I was just absolutely exhausted. I left work early both days, came home and slept. Saturday’s run was at 1pm after 4 hours at the office. It definitely was one of those, “let me just get through this” kinda runs. 

The GOBI Desert Race is now complete. Every day, I have been reading the updates/blog posts from the competitors and I have been so moved and inspired. What a feat! Next year, one of the venues is NAMBIA. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it….But, first things first. 50 miles. I still am not sure I can get it done, but I am committed and focused. 

June 15: 12 miles/2:04 approx.

June 14: 6.7 miles/1:10

June 13: 4 miles

June 11: 5 miles/49:30/9:50 pace

June 10 4 miles w/ 5×1 min tempo

Total: 31.7 approx

 

Daily Motivation

Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.”

 

-Bob Parsons

Committment

what’s true about runners is that we are a dedicated group. we are committed. especially when we have a goal. what’s great about runners is our discipline. i love it, love it, love it. here is a little bit of mine:

past few days wasn’t feeling well at all. left work early on wednesday. went home and slept. got up and went to the gym for a decent 5 miles. thursday, still not feeling well. worked and then went home and slept. this morning felt better. left house at 5:45am for a good 4 mile run.

Yeah, C’MON!

check this out:

http://www.4deserts.com/gobimarch/

I’ve been following this stage race. amazing. unbelievable. wow

game. Set. MATCH.

Yesterday, I went to run trails and aimed for 10 miles, but alas..i didn’t started until 9am. Well, here in the SOUTH, that is just much too late at this time of year. I did 7 and allowed myself the flexibility to mostly walk the remaining 3 miles back to the car. Just as a side note, the trail finally put in place a couple of port-o-potties. THANK GOODNESS. Thank you, Kennesaw park staff! So, because of the shortage on Saturday, my plan was to wake early today (sunday) and be at the Silver Comet Trail by 7am. This would ensure a cooler start, longer run, and I would be able to get back home to watch the French Open Final between Nadal & Federer. Well, no dice. I wound up waking at 7am and was very tired. I had some quick decisions to make because I wanted to watch tennis and I needed to run before it got blistering hot/humid. I chose to totally improvise and go run on the TREADMILL at the gym. I was glued to the overheard flat screen TV as I watched Federer get clobbered by Nadal! I was hoping for a better match and even to see Roger eek out a win, but oh well…i’m happy for NADAL. I love watching these 2 guys play each other! So competitive. So talented. So disciplined & dedicated. I’m just glad it lasted as long as it do so it could give me something to focus on for a while. I thought I would only make 10 miles, but I was in such a groove that I lasted another 2 for a total of 12. As for the week, 33 total mileage. I really want and need to get close to 40 this week.

June 2 – massage –AHHH

June 3: 4.5 miles/43:40/9:42 pace – treadmill

June 4: 5.1 miles/50:33/9:55 pace – outside, hilly/hot

June 5: 4.5 miles/43:30/9:40 pace – treadmill

June 7: 7 miles/1:12/10:17 pace- Kennesaw Battlefield Trails

June 8: 12 miles/1:57:47/9:48 pace – treadmill