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.


:)