it’s a wrap

So, the Tour de France came to an end. Been amazing to watch the coverage on Versus. Very happy for Lance and his 3rd place finish. Pretty damn amazing. 4 years away from racing. Nearly 38 years old.
Can’t wait to see what he will do next. Speculation out there he will go for Ironman in Kona. Would not be surprised!

In my last post, I mentioned how I was trying to be more intentional with each outing and not running just for running sake. Well, that changed this weekend when I just ran to get the miles in. When the legs are tired, sometimes, it’s just gonna be this way.

I’ve designated Saturdays as my “shorter-longer” runs w/ hills. Sundays have been longer and flat. For now.

This past Saturday, i ran over by Emory University and Druid Hills neighborhood. Lots of good hills. Had good pace, but started late in the morning so did have some warmer temperatures. Paid the price for sleeping in and even so, had a crappy sleep! Last 1/2 mile was TOUGH.

Today’s run was again done over at Silver Comet Trail. No Jeff this time. He went away for weekend to go boozin’ with some buddies. SLACKER.
Got another later start than i would have liked, but oh well…
Strapped on my trusty Nathan pack and took off. One of the things i thought of while out there today was how some people say they get bored when they run. I don’t think I have ever been bored while running. For me, there are too many things to think about. When I start a long run, my focus is just on settling in and staying on pace and paying attention to my body. After I have settled in, my mind wanders; i people watch (when they are around) and then most of the time i think about things in my life; what’s been happening, what’s coming up for me, etc…I relish that time(mostly) as my escape from everything…from work, from TV, Internet, Phone, crowds of people…Other times I find myself completely zoned out to music on my iPod. And then, invariably, in the later miles, my mind is not wandering because the pain takes over and that’s all I am focused on. At that point, it’s about managing my thoughts so that I can get thru the run. I am definitely not off in LaLa land when my quads are stiffening and sweat is falling and burning my eyes.
Nope. Never bored. Plus, most of the time I am running somewhere beautiful. How could beauty ever be a bore?

July 26: 11 miles – Silver Comet Trail – solo
July 25: 6 miles – outside, hills

Would like to get a speed session in this week. Gotta hit the track. Painful but helpful.

See ya!