I had to use a little reverse psychology for this blog to finally work. Instead of writing more and more posts about excuses and failed attempts at certain goals, I stayed away, preventing me the ability to make any excuses. I was simply inactive. If I was fine with that, then okay. We would know that this attempt at a running revival was a failure.
Instead, after three dissapointing weeks capped off with a seven mile week in the third (and that seven miles was merely the attempt to get out of my apartment and away from my mother-in-law), I had a very good 45 mile week. I am not throwing in any garbage mileage at all, so 45 was very good for me. And I'm currently in the midst of a week where I've already got 38 miles under my belt with two days left. Not only am I feeling very motivated by my resurgence, but I'm running through some very tough conditions. It is rarely above freezing when I step outside for one. And secondly, the trails are covered in snow and ice. This makes footing very tricky, but this is the type of running that will pay me back with interest in the Spring.
In was quite simple. I had to change my mindset. I could not give an update, until I got my act together. Recently, this has been my only outlet for my thoughts on running, so I needed to run in order to have something to say. I just needed a little motivation.
And that motivation came from a running partner. You always read about getting a person or people to run with and it's absolutely true. But the trick is that that partner better be self motivated most of the time. I'm lucky because my friend is super motivated to run daily. There is no apparent reason to me why he runs every day. He is not training for anything or even consciously trying to get faster. He just wants to run seven times a week it seems and get his mileage up.
*** Tangent ***
Not to go too far on a tangent, but this past week on Tuesday, January 4, we ran a little over nine miles. He complained that I was pushing the pace too fast for him on the long uphill stretch to finish the run, and he looked worn out. I also told him that I would probably run in the morning before work the next day since I wanted to go to lunch with some colleagues (we typically run during lunch). That evening we went out and drank a good quantity of beer and ate cheesburgers and chicken wings. During the course of eating I realized that I had not brought my running stuff home from work, so that I would not be able to run in the morning. He told me that he also forgot to take his running stuff home, and since his clothes were in his bag, they would be wet the next day. He did not want to deal with the inconvenience of having two bags at work (the horror!!), and he was definitely not going to wake up early to run if I wasn't going to get up as well. So, the issue of the running the next day would stay unresolved.
When we got home (when I'm in Washington, DC for work, I stay at his apartment) from the bar I sat on the couch to watch tv while he dissappeared upstairs. When he came down twenty minutes later, he was dressed to run. He wanted to run, with all the alcohol in his system, in the freezing cold, in the dark, around 10:30 at night. Wow. That's all I could say. He never really could explain it to me so it would make sense, but he often doesn't make sense to me. His rationale was that he didn't want to run in the morning. That was it. I could not fathom doing that at this stage of my life because that, to me, is the very definition of junk mileage. His body wasn't ready to put in a quality run in his state, and he didn't even rest that much. But, he got over 50 miles for the week and ran his seven times, so good for him and whatever goals he is trying to achieve, but I don't get it.
*** End of Tangent ***
Therefore when I'm in Washington, DC and staying with this friend, I have no excuse but to run. Out of my six runs though, only three of them were actually with him. It is simply his consistency and dedication for no apparent reason that motivates me. Honestly, I think it makes me angry because I don't understand it, but it will get me on my feet. This makes my friend the optimal partner because he not only runs with me which directly pressures me to run, but even when he doesn't, his ability to run no matter what obstacles may crop up, pressues me indirectly and psychologically.
Luckily, I was able to carry that momentum back with me to the Bronx. I've been able to get outside in the freezing weather and battle the elements. Since I've got all my cold weather gear, the cold isn't that bad on anything except my nose. It has become quite invigorating for me actually. If the track wasn't covered in snow, I might have gone out there for a couple of mile or 800m repeats. When it starts warming up and the track actually does clear up some, I will go out there because I'd like to get in a couple of indoor track meets this February. I'd love to see if I could break 10 minutes for two miles.
Anyway. The moral to my rant here is that if you are running by yourself and you lack consistency and motivation like I obviously do, then find someone or a group that runs regularly on a schedule that you can manage. Get yourself a running partner. And, if you can't then find someone who can pressure you without actually running with you (like a spouse who will push you out the door). Or you can luck out like me and find someone who is both without even trying.
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