1. The camping trip was great. My brother Jim, my sister Jean, and Tony and I went up to Cobscook Bay State Park, near Machias, for a 3-day weekend. I tentatively planned to do my long run in the area that weekend but … it was hard. It’s hard to do a 3-hour run period, regardless, but it was even harder to do it alone, with my family relaxing and having a good morning at the campsite.
I ended up doing two 20-minute runs around the campgrounds and called that good. Sometimes you just have to be flexible. I came home early on Monday and did my long run then. Along my comfortable route in Lewiston, down College Road. And it was good.
2. And I started the audio book of 50 Shades of Grey on that run and … oh my. It is terrible. I am not sure what is more embarrassing — the book itself, or the fact that I am now a good 4 hours in.
3. I have a big race this weekend! A first of its kind — I’m doing the Tough Mountain Challenge at Sunday River on a team with my super awesome co-worker, Scott. I’ve never done a “tough mudder” type race before and I’m really psyched — they’ve grown so much in popularity over the last few years and it’s something I want to cross off my fitness bucket list. I haven’t done anything special to train for it — just plodding away on Hal’s Novice 2 marathon plan — but I feel capable of living through it, and hopefully not letting Scott down,
4. I’ve been running consistently — at least three times a week, without fail — for almost 2 years now. One thing I have come to accept is that sometimes you really don’t want to do a run, and your heart’s not in it, but you still do it and then you feel like it doesn’t count because you didn’t give it your all.
Tonight was like that.
But 5. Yesterday was awesome. I went to Track Club at EL and it was 400s and 800s at mile pace. Three miles worth. It took my mental athlete to a special place. The kind of place where you dig deep to find the stamina you didn’t know you had for just a workout.
Afterwards we did stairs and hills and I remember going up the stairs thinking, “holy shit.* Where is this strength still coming from at this point?
I wasn’t in a place last year where I really did that kind of workout because I was still building the endurance fitness. The “can I run a marathon?” kind of fitness.
But now I know I can, and I can have fun with this kind of workout. It’s harder and easier than distance at the same time. I loved it.
* For you 50 Shades of Grey readers …