Do I Have to?

To answer the question: YES. Not because I'll get in trouble if I don't, but because if I want what I say I want, then it needs to be done.

To explain the question: Every athlete goes through a period in their training where the hardest part of their program is getting their ass out of the door and doing their workout. It's those few days, or more, where your body feels like crap, you don't want to do your workout and you play a mental game of tug-of-war with yourself of why not to workout versus going out and getting it done. This was how my week went this week. I had one hell of a time trying to stay motivated. I felt very depleted and tired this week and twice couldn't get out of bed in the morning to do my workout and had to do them in the afternoon.  The last 4 weeks I have worked 50+ hours a week and last week was the biggest week (in mileage and intensity) that I have had in a long time. Naturally, a crappy week should be expected. However, it was more than just heavy feeling legs. I really just did not want to do my runs. Like I said, every athlete goes through this at some point. The difference between those that want it and those that don't, is that you figure out ways to get your ass out of your pitty-party and get the job done. This could be finding people to run with or find ways to trick yourself into feeling better. For me, I know that long out-and-backs can be more mentally draining when I am already having motivation troubles. So I broke all of my runs up into smaller segments to make it seem like the run was going by faster. For example, doing a loop + an out-and-back or going out and back one direction then out and back another direction. By doing this, I can focus on one segment at a time instead of looking at one big segment and feeling like the run is dragging on. This helped me to feel better about my runs when they were done, even if my legs didn't feel particularly great. It turned out that two of my runs this week turned out being better than how I felt going into them.

This week being a down week (lower mileage), I also changed my overall focus for the week. Instead of making my main focus on my pace, I focused more on my cadence. Don't get me wrong I still gave 100% to hit my pace, but when you don't feel great and you are focusing on how fast you should be going, it doesn't help you feel any better about your runs to stress about your pace. So I re-directed my focus to something that was having a more positive affect on me mentally and worked on improving my running form. It helped me feel more fluid and relaxed during my runs. It is a win-win situation if you think about it: I am improving my form while being distracted from feeling crappy.

All in all, I can say it wasn't one of my best weeks when it comes to how I felt. But, it is another week in the books and another week that I am getting closer to my goal. It couldn't have come at a better time (well, it actually would have been better to not have come at all!) with my week ending at the start of the Olympics. Watching the athlete bios on TV and seeing the amount of work they put in to get there, is a great reminder that "Yes, you have to do it." I may never be as good as them and may never make it to the Olympics, but I'll be damned if I don't work just as hard as they do to reach my goals.

Weekly Summary:
Monday: OFF

Tuesday: 4 x 400m hills ( 2:04), 4 x 200m hills FAST ( :46), 4 x 400m hills (2:00-2:04)
               10 miles total

Wednesday: 6 miles easy

Thursday: OFF

Friday: 5 mile tempo 6:47, 6:47,6:57, 6:43, 6:34, 10 miles total
            PM: 4 miles easy
            **This was a particularly hard day for me.(Tempo runs are what I struggle with the most at this altitude.) I had to change up my route 3 times during the run to make myself get all 5 miles in. I planned on doing 1 mile loops and after 2 miles I knew I was going to struggle mentally. After 3 miles I was ready to call it quits so I changed my route and did the two loops, out 1 mile, and back 2 miles,**

Saturday: OFF
Sunday: 12 mile with last 3 fast: 6:39, 6:43 (short steep hill), 6:31

Weekly total: 42 miles (down 25% from last week at 56)

A Mental Note

Upon moving to Colorado, I received some funny looks when I told people my reasons for moving. "Wait, you are moving where you have no job and you aren't going for school?" EXACTLY. I moved to better myself by bettering my running. Some feel having multiple degrees or becoming the best lawyer or the best doctor or having lots of money means you are successful . For me, success is being the best runner and the best person I can be. Yes, I realize it is really hard to make a living from running and it takes a shit ton of training. But isn't med school hard? Isn't the Bar Exam hard? Isn't it all relative? If you are willing to put in the work for anything, why not do it?? I am enjoying my life by revolving it around running. They can enjoy their life by revolving it around work.


It has been only two months and I am already seeing benefits. I think so far, the move has most affected my confidence and mental toughness. Which is indirectly making me a better runner because I am pushing myself  a lot harder. Don't get me wrong, I have always pushed myself, but there is a definite difference in my focus and drive now. Even though I still struggle with breathing, I think my mental power is way above what it used to be. When I am in the middle of a repeat and my legs are on fire, I can't breathe and I'm pushing as hard as I can and not going faster, it makes me push even harder! I really don't like to be beat; whether it be by a human being or some inanimate object like altitude or a hill. I want to see how bad I can make it hurt because I want to see how fast I can get. I believe I have barely tapped my potential and I am determined to break in and find it.

***

With only 76 days until the Chicago marathon my training is really starting to ramp up. I am getting in a lot of hill repeats, tempo runs and long intervals. The intensity of my quality workouts has picked up and so has my mileage. The mileage is still a little lower than it should be (Just under 60 this week) but with the altitude and a hefty work schedule, I am being a little extra cautious. I don't feel like I recover as quickly as I did at sea level and don't want to push it too much and end up hurt. As far as my individual runs go, I am feeling pretty damn good. Coach Dad came to visit earlier this week and we hit the track from a 3x2 mile @ 6:20 workout. It has by far been the hardest workout I've done since moving here. Even though I struggled a little during the workout, I walked away feeling a lot more confident about where I am at fitness wise. It is the fastest pace I have run for consecutive miles since being here and also the fastest mile (6:10). It feels great getting back to doing the workouts where I can say: "That was f**king hard!".


THE END.


:)

2 Month Check-up

It has been almost two months since I moved to Colorado with the idea of bettering our running. I came out here with this vision of me running swiftly down the trails with the sun shining and the sound of wind in my ears, cresting the hills with ease and sipping out of my hand held; and all the while having this giant smile on my face. Let's be real, this is NOT Hollywood. However, I do think my running has/is dramatically improving, and parts of my run do feel like I look that way, but it has been nothing short of a hard transition.

Moving from 25ft elevation to 6300ft elevation is going to have it's obvious effects on my running. Obviously less air to my muscles = more labored running. Of course I was fully aware of this moving here, but it's a totally different game mentally when it's actually effecting you. The fatiguing in your legs is more of a maxed-out feeling than it is a this-f**king-hurts feeling, that I'm used to. It can get a little frustrating, and sometimes discouraging, when I am trying to push myself to go faster and my legs just can't/won't respond! Not to mention, there is rarely a  "flat" place to run out here. With so many different and new trails to explore, we have been hitting up the trail heads for the majority of our runs. Living at the base of the mountains, the trails naturally go nowhere but up. So you can imagine running up a hill, sans oxygen, is not going to produce a decent pace. This is what has been the hardest part of me. (I actually wouldn't even wear my Garmin for a lot of my runs because I didn't want to know the pace.) Now, I know pace on trails is pretty irrelevant but perceived effort is all the same. Feeling that I was working so hard and barely getting up these damn hills was really starting to get to me. I felt like every run was one of those rare, but necessary, runs where you finish and say to yourself "Why do I run again!?" It was more defeating than anything. I actually got to a point where I didn't really enjoy doing my runs. I had very little motivation to get out and do them and even the site of a hill had me frustrated and cursing under my breath. (mostly at Chris for cruising up the hills as if they weren't even there. haha he will usually slow down and wait for me at the top. Which pisses me off even more because then I feel like the weak link! But I don't tell him that =) )

  

I finally took a step back and said no more trails for a bit. We found a paved trail that runs through out Colorado Springs that is relatively flat. I did some runs there and let my legs take a little break. This has helped a lot and I can feel what the hills have done to my strength. My paces on the "flats" have almost gotten back down to where they were at sea level and I  feel a lot stronger all around. I have been  running on the trails again and still feel a little defeated on some of the climbs, but overall I feel like I am really improving. (Which was the goal, right!?) I've decided, along with Coach Dad, that I need to do at least one, if not two, runs a week on the flats. I think I need this more mentally than I do physically. I need it to prove to myself each week that it's the hills and not being fully acclimated to the altitude that has my struggling, and not my level of  fitness. I'm on my second week speed and hill workouts and they have gone great so far, They have really boosted my confidence in my fitness and my ability to run at altitude. I even pulled out a 9 mile trail race last minute ( Hellacious Trail Challenge ) in which I feel pretty good about the way I ran and how I placed. (I even won a little money, again. WAHOO!)

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love being here and don't regret the move at all. With that said, don't mistake my feelings for me bitching about being here. Trust me, it's probably worse where you are. ;)

 All in all, life is good! Coach Dad comes to visit next Saturday and I am looking forward to his visit!

Thanks for reading :)