Fantastic Friday. Really freaking fantastic Friday. Typical Oregon wintry weather, plus an easy 4 miler, plus a short day of classes, plus a massage this afternoon. I tried to keep it easy, really made an effort to slow down and still averaged 6:30s. Maybe it was the coffee, maybe it was my amazing hair, maybe it was the weather. The reality is that the quality of the run is an equation with many, many variables. Part of the fun of running is figuring out which variable affects which aspect and working on each one. I love solving the puzzle of running. Adjusting pace and distance and effort, knowing when to hammer and when to back off and how much hammering you can get away with, and pushing the envelope. The process of training has taken over as the fun part. In the past I wasn't as enchanted with the training and just wanted to race and compete. I was slightly obsessed with beating people, which still remains quite a bit of fun. But the real allure of beating people iss the process of out-working them. Devising a plan, executing the plan, running the plan - that's what matters. The best part is that this idea is not solely limited to the distance running realm, unlike health insurance, it's portable. Virtually everything follows the same basic idea: Goal-Plan-Process-Perform-Analyze, rinse and repeat. Think about it for a second, you do this daily without thinking. What's to stop you from setting a goal a little higher.......?
USATF Oregon state championships tomorrow! Meet website is here: http://www.teamredlizard.com/xc/ I'm stoked for it!
Day/Week: 4/32
Good Luck Wolf!
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