Tempo-ish

Last year the challenge for me was to build my miles and increase my endurance. Plus, and most importantly, love running again. "Love to run again" was seriously a goal- a written goal that Tim and I took very seriously.

So, it was wonderful to have all of these easy runs. I was building mileage and taking care of my body. It took a long time, but it happened. And now, well, I can run. Running long and easy is no longer a big challenge.

This year my running schedule looks a wee bit different. Tim knows if left to my own devices I will just run easy for the rest of my life, unless chasing a soccer ball. I love to run easy! You know how some people only run fast...NOT ME! I can joggggggg!!!!! So, now I still have my easy days, but, I also have tempo miles. He figured out I told on myself that I don't like tempo runs, so guess what I see on my schedule all of the time?

Sport is always about having to face myself!

So today= long run + tempo + heat....formula for a little suffering. However, I am really starting to understand that so much of my pain is self-chosen. I am realizing that I don't like tempo work, but it is not hurting me. I can complete so much more that I do, I just have to choose to do it.

Today I had to choose to do the last set of tempo miles in a long run, even though I was feeling the effects of the whole weekend of training plus the heat. I stopped and thought, "I will just jog it in. 16 miles is good, and I did the earlier tempo, so at least I got some of it complete." But then this podcast came to mind:

Bruce Fordyce

Bruce talks about a world class runner that would sign up for the Comrades Ultramarathon- easily had the potential to finish- and would drop out every time. I am very much paraphrasing, so check out the podcast, but he says that the runner did not invest enough in his training- did not sacrifice for the race, and when the race hurt, it was easy to stop. It is easy to say you don't need the suffering in your life when the going gets hard. But if you have sacrificed to be in the race....nothing can stop you from finishing.

And I thought to myself. It is no sacrifice to jog the last 2 miles. I can do that. And when it is hot and miserable at IMTX, I will have not have the mental strength that finishing this run correctly will give to me. Instead, I will look inside myself and see a person that did not want to hurt in training, and will probably not want to hurt in racing.

So, I did the last bit of tempo. And the interesting thing is....
1. I felt no worse picking up the pace
2. It was not like I was barely making the pace, I was right there.
3. It was mental!

So, I hope to continue to challenge myself to make the mental breakthroughs and to rightly distinguish between a true need to physically stop vs a want to stop secondary to discomfort. Because, let's face it...IMTX is going to be a hot, humid sufferfest. I would like to blame friends for making me sign up, but I think my little fingers are the ones that typed out the registration form!