My mind vs. my muscles

This past Sunday was beautiful outside.  It was warm and sunny for change, and I took advantage of the nice weather and went out for a run - a 9 mile run around Shoe Factory Road Forest Preserve.

By mile 5 my mind was entertaining the idea of making the remaining 4 miles a leisurely stroll.  In other words, by the time I got to mile marker 5 I started to think about quitting.  It was hot, my water was running out and my mind was straying.

To fight off the urge to quit I tried to focus on my legs.  How were they feeling?  Was my right ankle acting up (it's the one that usually gives me trouble)?  No.  The part of my right leg just above the ankle but not quite the shin was achy all week.  Was it hurting?  No.  Was I winded?  No.  Was I getting side stitches?  No.  Cramps?  No.  My muscles were fine.  Everything was working, but my mind kept entertaining thoughts of quitting.

I struggled through it and finished the run.  As I closed the 9 mile loop I kept going for another tenth of mile or so to my parked car.  I stopped, unlocked the car door and grabbed some more water.  Within a few minutes my breathing was regular.  I felt fine.  Clearly I didn't push myself very hard based on how quickly I recovered, so why was my mind telling me to stop?

I spoke to a co-worker who runs marathons.  He's a young guy - at most he's in his mid-twenties.  This dude can run 7 minute miles.  7 minute miles!  I'd have to sprint to cover a mile in 7 minutes.  And I know I can't sprint for a whole mile.  I point this out for no real reason other than to say that I spoke to someone who knows a thing or two about running and can do it a lot better than me.

I told him of my running story (I regularly bore my running co-workers to death with my running issues) from this Sunday.  He had a very thoughtful insight.  The mind is rational and when it feels the stress of running it says "stop".  The impulse it sends to stop isn't based on the body not being able to withstand the stress.  It's just a self-preservation mechanism.  But an athlete knows (or should know) his body well enough (by pushing the limits in training) to know what it can withstand.  An athlete should be able to identify injury pain from simple fatigue pain.  And that, according to my colleague, is how you keep yourself going.

I felt pretty good about his explanation.  Largely this is because that's exactly what I did on my last run.  As an athlete (I refer to myself as one in the broadest, loosest and most generous sense known to mankind) I've come to understand what I can take.  That's why I didn't stop.  That's why I made it through all 9 miles.

Looking back I did find one variable that I re-introduced on my 9 mile run that I haven't had in my various 6, 7 and 8 mile runs over the past several weeks.  That variable is my iPod.  I think the music distracts me from thinking about my running and it keeps me from thinking about positive things that keep me going.

I'm ditching the iPod.  This week I'm running without it.  This coming Sunday when I line up for another 1/2 marathon in Schaumburg I'm going to be iPod free.  Hopefully this will help me get my mind and my muscles better synchronized.

My running ups and downs...

Only a few weeks after running the Shamrock Shuffle in 55 minutes (it was an 8K race in downtown Chicago) I was able to complete another 8K race (this time in Washington, DC) in 50 minutes.  I noticed that my runs were getting slightly faster even though I didn't necessarily set out to make faster times.

I chalked it up to improving fitness and to the fact that I'm getting better at running.  I ran with a friend from the office after work during a business trip to Springfield, Illinois and we ran approximately 6.8 miles at just under 11 minute miles (my usual M.O. has been to run the longer distances at about 12 min/mile).  At home I ran 8 miles at a pace of 11 min 30 sec (again, slower then my 8K times but faster than my usual for longer distances).

Since then I've been having aches and pains in my right ankle and the area just above my right ankle.  That plus all the rain and cold have kept me off the road and on a treadmill.  While the lessened impact from running on the treadmill is good, I can't seem to get myself to run longer distance on the treadmill.  I get bored very quickly.

Today I went out and ran 9 miles.  It was run at a slow 12min/mile pace.  It was a hard 9 miles.  Right from the start my knees and my ankle felt achy/sore.  Those pains receded into the background as I finished a few miles but then my legs just started getting heavy and I really struggled through the last 3 miles.

I was surprised that I started feeling so stiff at mile 6 since I've covered 8 miles a few times this year and on neither of those occasions did I feel as tired even in the last stretch as I did today in a much earlier point in my run.  I was disappointed with the way I ran.

Thankfully I went out with a small bottle of water.  That turned out to be a lifesaver because today it was sunny and about 70 degrees out.  Without the water I would have been hurting even more.

I've got a 1/2 marathon on 5/15.  I'm 4 miles short and I frankly don't know how I'm going to be able to finish the race if I feel as bad then as I did today!

I need to hydrate better and I need to ditch the iPod.  I ran with the iPod again today and I'm fairly certain that it contributed to my lack of focus on today's run.

I need to get some good running in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and then give my legs plenty of rest on Friday and Saturday in the coming week.  I'm going to take it easy tomorrow (Monday) as far as running is concern (if Saturday's weight training doesn't catch up with me tomorrow I'll probably lift again).

One positive is that, as of the end of April, I am 8 or so miles ahead of schedule towards my goal of hitting 600 miles run this year.  I may have the ability to hit 650 miles this year.