After looking over my past few posts, I realized I have not been the most positive of souls lately. Truth is, my training has been going okay. It could be going a lot worse but the tricky thing about running is that you develop extremely high expectations for yourself. When things go right, it is what you are supposed to do. When they go wrong, things can snowball quickly and one workout can have a multiple day or workout hangover. Vegas reminded me of this as I spent 5 days there last week. Yes, 5 very long, hot, dry days in Sin City. While this was a dramatically different trip than a few weeks ago as I was there for work – the town has the ability to suck your soul right from your body. A bit dramatic? I don’t think so.
As a former avid gambler, I can only remember a handful of times that I won. And while I did lose more than I lost, I should certainly be able to recall more victories against the sports book or local bookies. On the flipside, I can remember the tiniest of details in the games that I lost or lack of blackjacks that were dealt my way. Where I was at. What I was wearing. What happened in the game. From conversations I’ve had with other degenerates..errr gamblers, this is very common. Why do you remember the losses so much more? Maybe losing is exponentially more negative than winning is positive. Exactly the reason I have essentially quit this nasty habit.
Reflecting over my running career, my successes are not as vague, but like gambling, I can specifically remember runs that didn’t go well or workouts that I really struggled through. One of the benefits of being a more seasoned individual (older) is having the perspective that every work out or race is not going to go as planned – for better or worse. I continue to follow along the Kenyan adage that says, “You are as good as your best day, even if you haven’t had it yet.”
With that being said, I’m going to look at this past week in a positive fashion. I ran all 7 days and put in some solid miles. I’m still having difficulty with my longer tempos which is evident by my Tuesday workout. Hoping this eventually comes around. I have from now until May 4th (my wedding!) to focus on training. Because of the lost time and inconsistencies over the past few weeks/months, I’m scratching the Hollywood half so I can get my training back on schedule.
Lastly, pick up your April issue of Running Times Magazine. Apparently my picture (see above) is in it with some quotes about the Chicago marathon. I had to re-up my subscription, but Brian received his the other day and found it on page 3.
March 11-17
March 11: 4 Miles, 29:15 (7:15 avg.) recovery run
March 12: 10 miles, 6.5 miles warm up, Drills, 3 miles in: 5:39, 5:51, 5:49
March 13: 9 miles, 3 mile warm up, 3 miles on track in 16:00, 3 miles on track in 5:45
March 14: 9 miles, 1:00:33 (6:44 Average)
March 15: 4 miles, No watch
March 16: 15.5 Miles, 1:38:00 (6:19 Avg). 6:42, 6:29, 6:29, 6:21, 6:22, 6:24, 6:27, 6:21, 6:17, 6:07, 6:12, 6:09, 6:09, 6:05, 6:11
March 17: 6 Miles, No watch
Total Miles: 57.5
