Mindless vs. Mindful Running

I've been reading Meb for Mortals in small sips over the past couple weeks. Meb, like most professional runners, is a big believer in being mindful during a run

Being mindful means keeping track of your body. Does anything hurt? Are you on pace? Is your form good? What needs fixing?

This kind of running is beneficial when you're training and looking to improve. But is there ever a time for mindless runs?

I think so. 

Constantly being mindful can be exhausting, and sometimes we run to energize ourselves. 

We run for the pure joy of it, for the freedom it gives us. We run to remember how strong we are and how far we've come. 

Especially when training, running can become a chore. I think a nice, mindless run once in awhile can be cathartic. It helps to reset and recharge our bodies after days of over-analyzing every step.

I think it's hard to find balance between being mindful and mindless when in the midst of training, and I think leaning too far toward either end of the spectrum means possibly losing sight of your ultimate goal - to enjoy running and to make progress.

I've been having a really hard time running lately; it was honestly the last thing I wanted to do this week. It felt like too much time to think, because I've been running mindlessly. But after a more mindful run Saturday night, I remembered that when I engage my mind and push myself, running can be a good distraction.

And with that, I think I finally turned a corner.

Do you enjoy running mindfully?
How often do you run mindlessly?

ABK

Highs and Lows

This past week definitely played with my emotions. 

Before I get into the details, let's review the week prior: I went back to work for teacher training and ran 2 miles...total. Readjusting to 6am wake-ups and badly timed inclement weather made for a sub-par week. 

At 6am, nothing tastes better than coffee.

This past week, I was determined to get back on track. I woke up at 4:30 Monday morning and did my 2-miler before work. My first day with students went swimmingly...I think my confidence and experience is finally paying off. I never even got butterflies. 

We start earlier this year so I've been at work by 7:15 and I have stayed late everyday to make sure my room is ready each morning. And in case you've never really paid attention to how teachers do their thing, I'm on my feet for literally 8 of the 9 hours I'm at work. By Wednesday, my hamstrings were screaming. 

Still, I was determined to prove that I can run in the mornings before work and actually get my training done. Thursday I ran hill repeats, completing four miles before I had to leave to shower and get ready for work. (I need to work on timing and maybe wake up at 4 instead of 4:30.)

My bridge, long before sunrise.

I had paused to stretch my hamstrings on the bridge when Adria ran by me and stopped briefly to say hello; she's way faster than I am and we don't train together, but she's running the same marathon, so it was an awesome morale booster to see her!

6 repeats in the bag!

The week finished well, but this is where I hit a snag. Matt had a SUP race scheduled for Saturday, and I was due to run 16 miles. I decided to go super early so I could still make it to the start of his race. 

We didn't get into town until 11pm. In the back of my mind was an article I'd read earlier in the week; it said that when marathon training, if you take a week off for illness or whatever, the week after should be a little easier to help you ease back in. 

It wasn't a good thing that this piece of advice was rattling around in my brain when I started out for my 16-miler because I think it gave me an excuse right off the bat. My calves and feet were tight and cramping with the first step, tired from the week, I'm sure. My Fuelbelt felt ridiculously heavy even though I only had two bottles in it. Despite the slightly cooler morning, I was covered in sweat by the first half mile - stupid humidity. 

This is not the face of success.

Basically, I got about six miles in before I called it quits. 

Back at the house, I felt torn. I wanted to go back out and at least do one more 5-mile loop, but while the desire was there, the ability wasn't. My legs were shot.

I know beating myself up won't do me any good. It won't make me a better runner. I need to build a bridge and get over it, use the disappointment to fuel my runs next week...And I need to shake this weird mental block I have going on all of a sudden in regard to my long runs. I think the humidity has kind of scared me into thinking I can't complete them, even though just two weeks ago I did 12 with little trouble.

So, the highs of the week included a renewed sense of dedication and ability in that it proved I can wake up early and fit my runs in before work; but the low - not completing my long run - has got me pretty down. 

Next week I intend to foam roll and stretch every day to try to ease up my leg muscles. Standing and walking all day is rougher than running, I swear!

How do you deal with mental blocks?
 Does it still feel like summer where you are?
What were your highs and lows last week?

ABK 

Girl Talk

I wish I were about to write an entry about this wonderfully ridiculous game. But no, unfortunately not.

Remember how I ran that 10k with a UTI two weeks ago? Well, it's not gone yet. I've now had this UTI for two weeks.

Two Tuesdays back, I woke up with really bad UTI symptoms; but, as I already had a doctor appointment set up for Friday, I decided to self-medicate and drink tons of water. By Thursday, I felt pretty good (as far as all that goes, anyway). I saw my doctor, got a course of antibiotics, the usual.

I took my antibiotics through the weekend, and when the course was up, I felt better...but not perfect. I ignored my instincts and assumed I was UTI-free...but this morning I woke up with the symptoms raging.

I made it through the workday and went to the urgent care to get my usual round of antibiotics, only to learn that the doctor was concerned by the amount of protein and blood in my urinalysis. Because of that, and the pain I'd had in my back earlier today, she's worried the infection could be getting up into my kidneys. Plus, she thinks I may have developed a resistance to my usual antibiotics, Bactrim.

The solution? A 20 pill (10 day) dose of Cipro, a different antibiotic with much scarier side-effects.

"No vigorous exercise" basically means no running or anything that could stress my tendons.

So now I'm off running while I'm on the medication, and then some extra days to make sure it's truly out of my system and my tendons are safe from rupture. Urgh.

And just when I had my workout schedule for my "off" season all worked out. Well, you know what they say about plans...

Someone cheer me up. Right now I want to drown my sorrows in ice cream and gallons of cranberry juice.

ABK