Weekly run down
MPW: 12.8 miles
Time spent cross training: 1 hour 50 minutes
Strength training: 1x
Daily run
Distance: 4.02 miles
Time: 39:49.67
Ave. pace: 9:54/mile
Another tough run this morning, but I’m thankful for the gorgeous weather. Just like yesterday, I started out too fast and ended up with positive splits. Darn, that’s something I need to work on! 4 miles shouldn’t feel so painful, and I can really feel the effect of taking time off from running to cross train. That’s one of the worst things about injuries- they undo whatever effort you have put into training. My previous ‘high’ of 30 miles per week was gone just like that. Okay, maybe a morsel of it is left. But only just.
I can finally sit down and think of what to write for the half-time report. Running wise I still need on working to become a smarter runner. Natural talent (not like I have much) will only get you so far, but for a sport like distance running you have to respect the distance, and the way your body responds to it. The distance itself can be covered easily, yet to cover it well requires so much more knowledge. It is not only about the technical aspects of running- the hardware, but also the software of running, your body. This injury has taught me so much about myself, as well as how my body responds in approaching the distance. Not many people understand why some of us run, and I don’t force them to do so. But one of the greatest things about running is that it is precisely through these stress that you put your body through that you truly understand what it is capable of, and how it responds to the different variables.
School life is a lot less to be desired though. I have no idea how I manage to screw some essays and tests up. Yes, I probably screwed my final politics essay big time, and till now I have no friggin’ idea how I did that. This semester was one of transition, but in all honesty it wasn’t as hard as I thought it should be. What I really lacked was FOCUS. Many times I just put off my work till the last minute, and for God knows what reason, take a slug-like approach to finishing tasks at hand. In fact, surprise, surprise (!!!) when I opened up my student account this morning to see my MCQ test result I so wanted to hit myself on the head for doing last minute work. Granted, that week I had other assignments to tick off the list, but I absolutely hate making excuses for myself.
So where does that leave me? Next semester I shall aim to 1. Slowly build my mileage up again. Hopefully I’ll reach 30-40 miles per week by the end of November. 2. Focus on the task at hand. No excuses at all.
