Weekend Training Update

"All I want is to have my Peace of Mind" (Boston)

One of my favorite songs to run to is Peace of Mind by Boston. The lyrics speak loudly to me as the song talks about the struggle to get ahead in life when in reality it is Peace of Mind that we should all be striving for.

As I began my 30K run on Saturday that is exactly what I was striving for. I've become better at letting my run come to me instead of the other way around. What that means is focusing on the present and not the end of my run. I focused on my breathing and this allowed me to relax more. Before I knew it I was already at the 6 mile mark. After a brief water break I went out again and seemed to hit the 9 mile mark very quickly. I say "seemed" because I have not been running with a watch. I recently downloaded some AC/DC songs and so I'm blaming that for my speed :)

As I made my journey back home my legs were still feeling fresh and that is when my mind started to take over. I started to think about how there have been times in my life where I have wanted answers to certain questions about my personal life but they were never answered. I then wondered that maybe the point is that some questions will never be answered and that the time spent looking for those answers could be better spent on something more positive. I tend to do my best thinking during these long runs as it's just me and my music. Throughout this second half of my run I began to get that Peace of Mind that I've been searching for these past few months.

Peace of Mind isn't an absolute and it constantly needs to be rediscovered because there are issues that come up which challenge me either personally or professionally. Remaining calm and productive when tragedy strikes is something that I have had to deal with far too often. Running allows me to process my thoughts and helps me to channel my energy so that it is flowing forward instead of backwards.

As I finished my 30K run I realized that it was quite a bit faster than it should have been (2:45). I need to be careful not to push myself too much during these long runs as the goal is to get my body used to being on my feet for 3 to 4 hours.

On Sunday I did an 8 mile recovery run. This run was also faster than I thought it was going to be as I only had a few hours sleep the night before. It's amazing that some of the better runs I've had have come when I least expected it. I actually contemplated not running today as I seemed really tired. However, I'm glad that I pushed myself and did the run becuase it turned out to be one of the better runs that I've had since I started training for the Marathon.