Weekly total
Thursday: 6.2
Sunday: 11.8
TOTAL: 18
Wow. I haven’t had an eighteen mile week in quite a while - that’s pretty low. Still, between Thanksgiving and letting my ankle heal, I think that’s fair enough. Next week will be pretty quiet; I want to get some serious elliptical time in (a la Meghan) with a little running; no spin class on Friday, and I’m planning on being back in full force for the Decker 20k on Sunday, after which I’ll have a month with no racing to worry about.
As an aside: today I saw somebody running down the street slow to a walk, panting and wheezing. I had a momentary glimpse of myself not all that long ago. These days, I find myself almost taking it for granted when I run for two hours straight, when really just a few short months ago I was constantly thinking about my next walk break. If I’m running too hard I might slow down a little, but just stopping because I can’t run any more? Not these days.
And don’t get me wrong: I’m not trying to brag here. It was hard work. But its hard work that you, too, can benefit from. Keep on running. Train hard, work hard, play hard, eat right, get some quality sleep. Heck, if you can do all of that you’re ahead of my game, that’s for sure. More than anything else though, believe in yourself.
When I was coming back from my MCL sprain this summer, I hadn’t run or done anything in a couple of months. It was all I could do to run a continuous mile a week after I got back. My first post-layoff 5K was done at an 8:50 pace. But three months later I finished a half marathon almost ten seconds per mile faster.
Now, I know that some of you may be thinking that I’ve forgotten where I came from. Not so. I realize that just a year ago I just had a twelve mile week - 2/3 my currently disappointing “short” week - and had just run 20k (my longest ever distance) in 2:40 (that’s a 12:52 pace). My point is that you control your own expectations and, because of this, your limitations as well. Aim high. Shoot for the moon. Maybe you’ll miss, but at least you’ll land among the stars.
Oh - and I finally finished my Turkey Trot race report as well. Thanks for all of your kind words and good advice, now and always - the RBF really is the best!
Popularity: 3%
Nov 29th 2004
2:41 PM
you said it, richard…
i had a similar conversation with a friend last night. he asked how far i’d run yesterday and that i’d planned on running as ‘few as 12 miles’. funny how disconnected we get from average runners sometimes.
then i started asking him how his lifting was going. he mentioned that he was benching 305 in reps of 6’s. i was in awe…and it hit me that my thinking of benching 305 was like him thinking of running 12 miles. we all have our extremes, it’s all relative.
wonderful comments about goals, etc. you should do motivational speaking engagements. =)
Nov 29th 2004
3:16 PM
Good stuff man. We have to remember where we came from and pass on that experience. I think every one of us can appreciate hearing from runners who are “ahead” of us but also who were once where we are.
It also reminds me of the fact that a runner falter and come back stronger. Being slightly injured, it would be easy for me to get depressed about losing fitness. However, I have the benefit of experience telling me it will come back.
So, the message for runners of all ability (as you’ve said) is just to keep running and GO FOR IT.
Nov 29th 2004
6:40 PM
Right post at the right time. Thanks! - Mia
Nov 30th 2004
7:33 AM
Richard,
I know what you’re saying. I’m having to remind myself of that almost everyday. A year ago today I was struggling with running 3 straight miles in my run conditioning class. I was always the slowest and the last one when we had certain distances to run and always the one that people were encouraging along the way. Now I get out and run and find that in races I’m coming up to people and encouraging them. It seems we always forget where we started and fail to see just how far we’ve come.
Nov 30th 2004
8:44 AM
heh. Nice post, and a nice reminder. Back when I was battling my blood pressure instead of being in control of it, the longest run I could do was 8 miles. It took me almost 2 hours and I was useless for three days afterward. I finished 9 on Sunday in about 1:40 and was “disappointed” that I didn’t do my full 12 that day. But now I’ve run for almost 4 hours straight, and I’m about to embark on 26.2. I’ve come a long way, and I’m happy with that.
Nov 30th 2004
9:26 AM
It doesn’t hurt to brag occasionally if it makes you feel good.
Nov 30th 2004
9:45 AM
nice post richard, very motivating. good reminders too.
Nov 30th 2004
11:28 AM
Great post.
Great inspiration.
And it’s ok to brag!
Be proud, you kick ass!
Nov 30th 2004
7:58 PM
Hey there,
Thanks for your kind comments on my blog and about keeping up the running. Also, really good motivational post; it’s good to see how much you’ve improved!