Without Purpose You Are Lost

SNAPSHOT

Purpose drives the run

DIGGING DEEPER

The first question to ask yourself is, "What is the purpose of this workout?" With a vision of what needs to be accomplished, you can rid yourself of guilt and indecisiveness, staying on the right path to your goals.

Perhaps you feel guilty that you only have thirty minutes for your easy run today. Is your guilt justified? Well if the purpose of the run was to gain weekly miles and increase your overall fitness then you may need to accept that you only can run for 30 minutes today and will need to add on the extra missing 20 minutes to another easy run later in the week.  However, if the purpose of your run was to increase blood flow and recover from a hard workout the previous day then 30 minutes of easy running will fulfill that purpose very well. The extra 20 minutes that you will miss is unneeded running and be grateful that your busyness is keeping you from overtraining.

Or say you are returning back to training and your workout calls for 4 sets of intervals. You complete three of the sets and feel spent.  You could eek out the last one using your mental superpowers. However being satisfied with the three intervals you completed will cause improvement without taxing your body to the point of overtraining or injury.  This is when you become the smart runner who performs a solid workout and leaves the last one for another day.  Your purpose was to work hard at your fast pace. Mission accomplished.

A favorite for runners is "The day off, I earned it" purpose.  That is the day where you either read an entire book, wander through your home taking the time to do as you please, or snatch the coveted nap in the sunlight coming through the window.  The purpose in this day is pleasure and recovery.  It keeps you from regretting all the devotion and time you put into running.

The important question you must ask yourself each day is, "What is the purpose of this opportunity?"

SOLUTION

It takes guts and wisdom to run with purpose.

Book Review - Brain Training for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald

SNAPSHOT

The brain has a lot more to do with your performance than you realize.

DIGGING DEEPER

I have a fascination with how the body and brain work together.  Fitzgerald quenches my thirst for knowledge and supports my experiences with his brain training theories.  

'The actual cause of running fatigue is a reduction in muscle activation by the brain that is influenced in part by declining energy stores.  This phenomenon is believed to serve as a protective mechanism that prevents us from running to the point where we seriously harm ourselves.' (page 3) 

The half marathon race is a good example of brain training.  On the course, you will see runners that can keep a consistently fast pace throughout the entire  race.  Then there are the runners that hit the wall at 11 miles and can't go any farther.  Their bodies revolt and stop running.  For them, it turns to intervals of walking and running until the finish line appears.  

What is the difference? Why are some runners not hitting a wall?  Fitzgerald contends that they have taught their brain to not shut down but instead trust that the body can endure the activity.  

How?  Practice. Putting yourself in the same position physically and mentally that will be expected during the race will prepare the brain for the challenge.  This makes the brain gain confidence that you can go from start to finish at the desired and practiced pace.  There are many ways to simulate the fatigue accumulated during a race.  

My favorite half-marathon workout to train your brain is a tempo/easy miles/tempo combination.  Start with 20 minutes of easy paced miles as a warm up.  Go into your tempo pace for 20 minutes. Slow down to an easy pace for the next 30 minutes.  Finish the workout at a tempo pace for 20 more minutes.  The fatigue that is accumulated during the first 70 minutes will simulate the challenge of a race pace without having to actually run the race. During the last tempo, you will gain by training your brain to withstand the pressure and continue on.

SOLUTION

Train realizing "It is all in your head".

Nerves

SNAPSHOT

Just do it

DIGGING DEEPER

2014 was the last time I had toed the line at a race.  It had been a fairly good race but it was the beginning of an injury.  I had gone through five doctors, PT exercises, X-rays, MRI, crutches, questions, and no answers.  However recovery came and training began again. I had 9 speed or tempo workouts in my training log, but this little race had me almost in tears.

If a friend had looked me in the eye, I would have lost it.  Me, at 36 years of age, scared of a no pressure local spring 5-mile race.  With over 250 races on my resume including years as a competitive runner in high school and college and I was still worried that I wouldn't be able to survive the pain and have the mental toughness needed for this small race.  

My coach had talked me through which shoes to wear and reminded me that there were no expectations.  A friend that knows runners too well had felt my nervousness and said, "Relax and enjoy the race." I keep my eyes downward for fear that someone with see my terror.

As I reached the start line and continued my pre-race routine with strides.  The weight and worry vanished. It just disappeared. Gone just like that.  I felt the old me, the one that was fast and confident. Everything was right.  My flats gave me smooth steps, my arms swung alongside, and my teammates were surrounding me.  I was free.  I was at home.  

The race went by quickly as it always does.  My splits were fairly even and faster than I expected.  I was back in.  I could toe the start line again and know I got this!

SOLUTION

Keep stepping closer to what scares you and let the fear disappear.

Thanks to Joe, Vince, Beth, and Willow Street AC.

Coming Back

SNAPSHOT

Will a recovery ever happen? Yes, but the future will look different than the past in many ways.

DIGGING DEEPER

It took seventeen months to come back.  The injury never was figured out even though many doctors tried their best.  I knew it wasn't as simple as one aliment.  My body is all connected together and this injury took me down in many ways.  

There was a moment or a weekend that the despair shifted and there was hope again.  A small, tiny, miniscule hope that I one day again would walk without pain.  Then after realizing I could walk, I dared to run again.  For 30 seconds that is.  I thought I was a bird that had escaped from it's cage. Little by little with great caution, I added time and distance to my new norm. There was still pain but it wasn't getting worse.  With fear I kept on the road to recovery, not knowing if each run could be the last.  The week I got to 55 miles in 7 days and wasn't any worse off, I brought a new Garmin watch. It was my reminder and declaration that I was whole again and could hope for the future.   Two months later, I embarked on the first real speed workout with training partners by my side. The pace was slow but they reassured me it would drop down to what use to be natural for me.  

TODAY was the day that I ran the 8x400 at 5:20 mile pace that I once knew.  I wrote on my driveway in my daughter's sidewalk chalk, "COMING BACK 8x400 @5:20."  In the past my humility would have kept the chalk off the driveway, but these last 17 months have taught me to enjoy today's  accomplishments.  They are valuable. 

SOLUTION

Don't wish away the great accomplishments of today.

How She Does It

SNAPSHOT

When she misses a workout she counts it as gained.

DIGGING DEEPER

That bad day happened and the speed workout got kicked out. This is how life is.  You can't get around the fact that today there are only so many options and running the first hard workout of the week will not happen. So wipe it away and understand the value of rest.  At least on this day strength is gained because it is at rest that the body rebuilds.  It is not for a lack of motivation or planning that a run was missed. Next morning, the sun will rise in the east and another chance to snatch a fast pace on the watch.

SOLUTION 

Patience and understanding that this road will twist and turn but is still going in the right direction.