Not Always Easy

Sunday, October 01, 2017 · Mike Davis

Good morning!

With the calendar flipping to October, it is like Mother Nature decided to give us that fall chill many of us enjoy! ?? Even here in North Carolina, this morning is quite chilly, but thankfully, no frost. While some are surely complaining, I am not. I am sitting on our screened porch, with a mug of hot coffee and a pumpkin spice cookie. Fall indeed.

Yesterday I ran for 65 minutes, capping off a nice week of running. After chatting on Friday about slowing it down, I consciously kept my pace at conversational or as the text book would say; “below Ventilation I.” About the 5.5 mile point, I guess I got lazy, as my toe caught a root and I did a header! I was able to brace my landing with my hands and right arm, so beyond a few scrapes, nothing else was affected. Trail running is awesome, but you cannot get lazy!

It is really crazy, I ran on Thursday and the temperature was on the plus side of 90 at 6pm, and yesterday in the middle of the afternoon, it was 76 degrees! It was also weird, in that I was looking forward to running in near perfect weather, yet when I started my run, I felt physically beat. The way I felt, I honestly was not sure if I would run more than 30 minutes. My first thought, was why, but then I moved on to the mental aspect of running. Whenever I do not feel motivated, or less than my best physically, I change my focus to smaller goals, like instead of thinking total time I planned to run, I think only 10 minute increments. This strategy is not intended to trick myself, because I truly give myself permission to stop when I complete that 10 minutes, though I most often do not. Yesterday, I continued beyond each ten minute increment and ultimately ran as long as I set out to run.

Some days, exercising is more challenging than others (as we all know), and often those days are when we get the most gain. Having a mental strategy for such days is important, and just as important, we must know when it is okay to shorten or not do it at all. Listening to our bodies is an important part of a good training regimen as well. Knowing ourselves and how we function, we need to know the difference between obsessive and lazy. Some days, I can just feel unmotivated (lazy), but other days I am obsessive out of fear. Neither is a good thing for healthy training or for a good exercise routine. Staying balanced and having mental tools are both important for me.

Time to get along. Have a great Sunday and a super week!

God Bless!

Michael