Being wise and thinking big picture!

Sunday, August 10, 2014 · Mike Davis

Good morning! What a beautiful New England morning it is indeed! I just came from church, followed by breakfast at a new Dinner in Dover. If you are around Dover and want to try out a new breakfast/ lunch place, I would recommend this particular dinner. Can't recall the name, but it is the old armory on Oak street, down off of the street the Cocheco golf course is on. Food was good and service was quite friendly. My wife will tell you that I am definitely a guy that likes going out for breakfast and sitting at the counter. No doubt I get that from my Dad, who was always quite sociable and liked drinking coffee and chatting with those around him. During the week I am much more disciplined with breakfast as I limit it to Greek yogurt and whatever concoction I make for a shake. Weekends are usually when I allow myself to enjoy a full breakfast. Yesterday I set out to run 7 miles as I mentioned Friday, but I believe that a couple of self inflicted things derailed me. The first was my strength training on Friday where I brought back swing squats back into my workout. Squats with weights are always a challenge those initial first couple of weeks in that you feel them on the inside of your thighs for days and can even make sitting down a challenge. When I was running yesterday I most definitely felt them with every step I took. Squats are great exercises so I am going to have to endure the discomfort for a couple of weeks until those muscles adapt. I should not have stopped! The other self inflicted mistake was deciding to run on a totally empty stomach. Feeling guilty about the dinner and desert I had the night before, I choose to force my body to burn the calories from the night before. Not a good decision as I pretty much hit the wall around mile 4 as I climbed a substantial hill and by mile 5 I was done. I certainly know what I am doing when I choose to run on only coffee, but with my current physical challenges, I surely didn't make a good decision yesterday. The great thing about where I am at this point in my running life is that I was okay with walking a mile home. Instead of feeling like I failed, I choose to enjoy the walk back to our apartment. Mentally and physically I want to get back to being comfortable running 7 to 8 miles, but I am okay with not forcing it. Today I feel great and that's a good indication that my first time out in the Asics Nimbus was a success. The burning in my left foot is better so I am pleased with that. Maybe it is my age or maybe I just don't have the time to train as I use to, but I enjoy being out there far more than I do trying to run further or faster. The secret of running success goes far beyond marathons or personal records, but instead success is far more simple in that just being out there is a success! I am just as driven as most anyone, but I now see more value in being able to run for years to come and if that means reigning in some distances and my speed, it is worth the tradeoff. Our bodies can be pushed and challenged but often that does not come without a price. Very few can keep running long and fast miles without possibly sacrificing future running, so it is important to be wise and calculating. I deal with so many runners that want to run more and more without proper rest or recovery. Not good for the body or long term running! I understand the desire, but the abuse we put on our bodies today will haunt us at some point. Being younger definitely allows runners to do amazing things and recover quicker, but while it may seem okay, the body still needs recovery and rest. I am enjoying my Sunday of rest and recovery. This week will be crazy and challenging. 10K Intermediate training in its final 2 weeks with Half marathon training starting up! Should be a fun week! Hope to see lots of you!. Have a great Sunday! Mike