Run, Strength, Bike, Core

14 February

Run: 8 mi
Strength: legs, triceps, lats
Core: 10 min
Bike: 30 min (8 mi)
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Run--1.2 mi WU, 6 mi tempo (tempo time 43:38, 7:16 pace), 0.8 mi cool on a treadmill. I started out running 3 mi at 7:30 pace, then just tried to pick it up.

True Love--Yes, it is Valentine's Day, and I did receive the most amazing valentine from my Valentine in AZ. He is an amazing man! But I LOVE A Prairie Home Companion. There will always be a special place in my heart for Garrison Keillor. You will not find a bigger fan of the show. Every show completely blows my mind away! Holy cow, the show I was listening to while riding my bike blew my socks off! This yodeler was INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!! Wow, I am just blown away by these performers. I really hope they come back to DC this May!

Motivation--I pulled my head out of my butt today. My focus this season is consistency, and I have been anything but. Strength workouts have gone by the wayside, and 60-80 mi per week on the bike is NOT enough. The Boston Marathon isn't going to run itself, and none of these goals are going to happen if I don't shut up and get the job done. As I ran, I thought of three things:

1) "Even the Kenyans warm up at 9:00/mi"
2) "Run your own race"
3) "Add a brick to the temple of body today"

A classmate of mine from the Air Force Academy ran his first marathon at Houston a few weeks ago and missed the Olympic marathon trials qualifying time by ~1:30. I don't want to miss a goal by 1:30. I want to obliterate my goals. What we do today can put us on "1:30" on either side of what we want most to do. Sometimes it sucks, but I don't want to be 1:30 on the wrong side of qualifying for the Olympic marathon trials (figuratively, of course). Put the rubber to the road, slacker!

One More Thought--Attitude is everything. Tempo runs are always so daunting, but for no reason! Today my goal was 7:30 pace, which in my mind was scary. 7:30?! For 6 miles?! Then I started running the warm-up distance. And felt good. Then it became time to ramp up to 7:30 pace. And it was... easy! But I exercised patience and waited 3 miles before bumping it up. Then slowly but surely 7:30 pace became 6:53 pace by the end. For the last half mile I turned it up to 6:18 pace, but my brain couldn't handle that. I know I can run 6:18 pace for a half mile, but my brain totally short circuited! I did turn it back down to 6:45 pace for a little bit and then back up, but it just goes to show how important the mental component of athletics is. Tempo runs are NOT scary, nor is 6:18 pace for such a short distance. "If the furnace is hot enough, it will burn anything." ~John Parker, Once a Runner