Journey to the Half - Week 2
The week began with a Blood Moon run and ended in an “I don’t want to run” run. I won’t lie to you: this week was difficult. It wasn’t difficult for physical reasons. Training was beginning to have a psychological impact on me.
It all started Sunday evening (during the Blood Moon) with a medium range run at a slow pace. After I finished the run I posted to my Google Plus account (+Randall Latham) “Hardest run to date. I didn’t want to start and I didn’t want to finish… but I did!” To be fair, being able to view the full eclipse kept me running most of the time, as I witnessed the event during its fullest and darkest. Very neat, and glad I was able to experience it.
The week ended on Saturday with a slow paced 5 miler. The day started early for Joel Thomas and myself working a Squatch Watch Gear table at the Oklahoma Bigfoot Symposium (which was fantastic!). After a long day of promoting our shirts and other gear, I was zapped. I hadn’t eaten well all day and had relied on far too many soft drinks to make it through the craziness. So, when it came time to run, I came up with every excuse not to.
“You’re too tired. You deserve a break.”
“You’ve not eaten well. Better to not run and go eat a meal.”
“The bed looks amazing right now.”
Various other thoughts crossed my mind while dressing. Those thoughts continued during the first couple miles ranging from “Dang, I’m hungry.” to “Dang, I’m tired.” I’m a complex individual, right?
After the midway hump of the run, I just began to grit my teeth and grind my way out.
I share all this with everyone to show you that runners don’t always experience rainbows and unicorns farting sunshine. Some days you just don’t want to do it. Some days you need to exercise your brain just as much as your muscles. If you haven’t been running or exercising regularly (like me), your brain is used to doing the same old thing every day. It needs to be trained just like your muscles. It’s a strange feeling when you finish after having a day like this. You have this strange feeling of satisfaction at completing this task you didn’t want to do. You feel fulfilled and conflicted all at the same time. It’s wonderful…. ish.
I’m joking, but it is a weird sense of satisfaction you feel after every run. This may just be your endorphins taking over, but I’ll take what I can get after finishing.
While the beginning and end of the week may have been tough, I did have hi-lights through the week. During my 12 minute test and my short run this week, I felt noticeable improvements in my respiratory, physical movement and overall speed compared to last week. Those events really helped push me during the difficult times. I didn’t want to lose the ground I had already gained.
Overall it was a good week and I’m glad I finished each day. If you currently struggle with getting off the couch or have a success story of overcoming the “brain drain”, let me know at randall@squatchwatchgear.com or leave me a comment below.
Week ending totals: Total days: 4 days; Total miles: 11.07 miles; Longest run: 5.01 miles
2 weeks of training down; 28 weeks to go until the Star Wars Half Marathon – The Dark Side in Walt Disney World.
Randall
P.S. That pesky armadillo is still terrorizing the neighborhood.
