It's different this year.
I suppose it's a whole new aspect on the mental part of training and racing. It doesn't just apply to the Goofy either.
Rewind back to April of 2006...I previously decided to do the Hoya and the Hare 5k. It was the first race I had ever ran. I remember training so hard for it...wondering what the experience was going to be like...just hoping that I could finish the darn thing...and if I could finish it, I just didn't want to be last. Every step of every mile was a new adventure. And the race itself was so exciting and rewarding. I can remember writing a HUGE race report on it. It seemed so much larger than life.
I decided to run that race again this year, thinking it would be cool to re-run my first ever event...relive some memories. But the training was different. I thought it was because I had finished a marathon three months prior and was training for a half marathon at the end of April...but I don't think that was the sole reason. I went from hoping I could finish the darn thing to hoping I could PR. The race itself lost some of it's luster...it went from this huge ordeal to just another 3.1 miles, finishing to the same spread of bananas, cookies and water that I had become so used to.
The limited fanfare I received from my DD in '06 had also evaporated in '07. Takes 21 days for something to become a habit...I guess it only takes 2 races for them to become second nature, an afterthought to those watching from the sidelines.
That briefly changed in May when I actually placed in back to back 5k events near my community. The field was small, but it was still an accomplishment. DD was surprised I think when I came home with a small plaque noting my accomplishment.
But after the initial elation wore off, I realized my 5k time had stabilized right around the 25:00 mark. I had leveled off...now granted I'm very happy to be able to run an 8mpm 5k race, but I'm not willing to do the extra training it takes to dramatically increase that time...I see no point in doing that.
So I turned to the 10k. Same thing happened. The Peachtree lost some of its spectacle the second time around and the medal fiasco at the US10k left a bad taste in my mouth. My times had also consistently came in at the 52:00 mark.
Now I guess it's unfair to compare all of those races to the marathon, because I run the marathon (and half marathons for that matter) for very different reasons. I originally thought I was doing them to push myself past some physical barrier but I quickly learned otherwise while I was in the midst of training for last years race. I learned a lot about myself and the things that are really important to me. And let's just say it isn't running the race in some certain amount of time.
I can't go in to detail, but I learned a lot about who I am as a person out there. The marathon parallels life...you can find a million quotes out there about that simple statement. But for me it means that it's not the time spent on the course that's important, but it's how you spent the time along the way. Maybe I should shorten that?? In life, it's not the time spent...it's how you spend the time.
Amazing what you can come up with at 2am.
So anyway...I'm not sure what the whole point of this little stream of thoughts really is. I guess it's just that some familiarity has set in during the training and maybe that's because the big longer runs for me haven't happened yet. But if I look back at what I said there, maybe I'm too worried about finishing each training run and instead I need to focus on enjoying each run as they happen...knowing that each one is building me to my ultimate goal.
How does that compare to life? Maybe it doesn't, but it is giving me the confidence I need to face any obstacle that comes my way. Actually I was gonna type some thing about making sure you map out your course first, marking each mile along the way...and that some miles are a lot tougher than others...sometimes you just think you aren't gonna make it and you need to draw from within, dig deep and strive toward the finish line....but I'm not sure how that all fits in either.
Whew.
I dunno...maybe I should have just went to sleep. LOL!
Well, I typed it all so I'm gonna leave it up here...maybe someone does some part time psychology and can help me organize my thoughts LOL I'm sure I'll be wondering what the heck I was thinking come morning time.
Anyway...I hope you all have a good day...thanks for letting me ramble away for a bit
Keep up the good work!
Keep up the good work. You continue to amaze me!
Incredible.
) it really teaches you something about yourself. What??? that depends on the person. For most, I think it shows that maybe we are stronger than we thought...???
This is just what I pulled from your 2am stream of thought!
Music...I got nothing! I wish I had something!!! I've got no ipod, mp3...nothing! If I did, I wouldn't know what to put it on it. I like various stuff, but I don't know that it would make for great running music. Anyone run to Kenny Chesney or Jimmy Buffet??? 
