Running from Distraction Re-boot!

Since flaming out last year due to injury, illness, career issues, and general stress I've been trying to re-group.  Starting tomorrow I'm re-launching this blog, and I'm going to start focusing on my physical fitness and activities from a more spiritual and holistic perspective.  Setting realistic goals and seeking a way to achieve balance in my life has become my top priority.  It's easy to get off track if you just put your head down and run.  I've got to lift my head up and look around.  I hope this blog's re-start will document my personal growth during this period as well as an increasing feeling of being in balance.  Wish me luck!

Moving gradually toward early runs

I am not a morning person.  The period of time between waking up and getting out of bed is always a struggle for me.  I very rarely bound out of bed to greet the new day.  However, as I get older and look for ways to be more productive with my time, I'm beginning to realize I need to start becoming a morning runner.  There was a time when I used to regularly get up early and run.  I always felt good on those days.  You just feel like you've already accomplished something and now everything else is a bonus.  On days when I don't run early, no matter how much I do I feel like I haven't gotten through the important part.

So here I am with the need to start running early in the day.  I thought about going cold turkey and just getting myself up, but I've never been good with shock therapy.  My current plan is to just ease into it; much like you gradually build up your mileage, I think I'll start heading out 10-15 minutes earlier every week.  Within a month or two I should be right where I want to be.  Ideally, I'd be able to complete my daily run (or workout) by 7 a.m.  That would give me enough time to eat a good breakfast and get cracking at work by 8 to 8:15.  It will probably help me to have more productive mornings as well.  This is the right time of year to start this.  It's a lot easier to roll out of bed when it's in the 50s and head outside than when it's in the teens or below.

I'll post an update as to how I'm doing with my quest to become more of a morning person.  Should be an interesting ride.

Running is a mental sport

Today I ran nine miles.  When I started my run it was around 43 degrees and cloudy.  As I hit the first mile it started to drizzle.  When I hit mile two it was raining.  By mile three it was pouring.  At this point I could easily have turned around and gone home.  However I stuck with the run.  I pushed myself to run nine miles because that's what I wanted to do.  Running takes as much mental effort as physical effort at times.  While I enjoy days where running is fun and easy and enjoyable, I've also experienced days where the best thing about the run was that it was over.  I've run in all kinds of bad conditions: heat, humidity, rain, snow, bitter cold, and my all time favorite sleet.  My friends and family all shake their head. "Why don't you just skip it today?" they ask.  "why can't you go to the gym like a normal person?".  Well, I tried that.  Actually I spent years going to a gym and running on a treadmill and doing other things.  I also skipped plenty of runs because of the weather, or whatever.  The truth of the matter is that when I run outside, on the roads, I'm training my mind as much as my body.

I lost the mental toughness I used to have for a time.  I let myself get soft mentally and physically.  Last spring, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a person I didn't recognize.  It was at that moment that I made up my mind.  I'm a runner.  I will become the runner that I want to be.  While I've had ups and downs since then, I've stayed true to the fact that I'm in training.  I'm getting mental toughness back.   I'm also getting physical fitness back.  I'm on the cusp of getting myself to the next level.  Whenever I waver, or whenever I have a setback, I look at myself in the mirror and ask if I'm looking at someone I recognize.  If I've been going out for regular runs I know exactly who is staring back at me.

When a stated goal hits a snag, don't retreat! Reflect!

This winter has not been kind to runners in general.  For me, it's been a huge mental challenge.  I've been out in cold and bad weather for so long, that it feels like it was years ago that I ran in nice conditions.  Some days I've been able to overcome the inertia that dark cold days bring, and other days I haven't been able to.  Then, there are those events that are beyond my control.

Originally, I wanted to run twelve races in twelve months.  Everything was going along really well until two things happened:

1. Weather forced the postponement, and then the cancellation of the second race I had planned to run.
2. Illness forced me to miss the third race I had planned on.

While neither one of these events is anything I could have controlled, it still threw me off track.  What was I going to do?  How would I recover?

Well, upon reflection I have plenty of time.  I can still attain my goal.  The Maine Marathon is more than six months away, so I have a lot of time to train, and there are a lot of road races in Maine between now and then.  I just need to take a deep breath and relax.

Well that's that!

My quest to run twelve races in twelve months hit an unfortunate snag.  In February I was signed up to compete in the Mid Winter classic, a 10 mile run that is held in the town where I live.  Despite the distance and the time of year, the race attracted 800 entrants.  On February 6th, the Town announced that the roads were not safe for the runners; the snowbanks were too high, and due to fresh snow, the Town needed to plow.  The same story occurred on the 27th, the make up date.  This time, the race is cancelled.  Bummer.

So, on to the next race which is this coming Sunday Morning.  The Irish Road Rover Starts and finishes in front of an Irish pub named Brian Boru.  I can see some Guinness in my future.  I will also need to pick up an additional race to stay on track with my goal.  The reality is that the weather has not been very cooperative for training purposes.  For a while I was doing ok, but the constant cold and snow has begun to wear me down a bit. But enough of that!  March will be a good training month for me I know it!  Today begins the rest of the training year for me, and I started well.  Spring is coming, hang in there everyone.

Rules of the Road: Staying safe and staying upright

I think it's fair to say that it's been a rugged winter here in Maine so far.  We've had a lot of snow, a lot of frigid temperatures, and it's been really difficult to stay on top of my training schedule as a result.  The second race I was scheduled to run even got postponed.  As I was out running today I realized that the more I can keep getting outside, and the more I can condition myself to handling the cold, the easier it will be to train as it gets warmer.  However, winter running presents a few challenges and frankly some of them  are dangerous.  Here are the things I find I've got to pay attention to in order to stay safe out there:

1. Dressing right: It can be a challenge.  You want to be warm but no too warm.  On the other hand, frostbite is a real possibility.  I wear synthetic fabrics only.  The moisture wicks through leaving my skin dry.  This becomes important when you are running on a windy day when the temps are below freezing.

2. Be sure of your footing: Sidewalks can be poorly plowed or shoveled.  Far better to run on bare pavement.  Falling hurts; I've done it.  If you run before the sun comes up be extra cautious of black ice, or wear something on your shoes to aid traction.  Falling on the ice can lead to broken bones, but you could also slip into the path of an oncoming truck too.  And speaking of traffic...

3. Run on quiet roads.  The snowbanks stick out so far that you can get up close and personal with traffic in a hurry out there.  Run on quiet roads with low traffic volume to give yourself more space and an opportunity to focus on things other than not getting hit.

4. Watch for puddles: They can mask ice which can be bad, and they can also turn into a weapon in the hands of drivers who don't watch for runners.  That is unless you enjoy a freezing muddy shower while running.

5. Beware trying to be too tough: We all feel good if we manage to get the run in under adverse conditions; running in the snow and cold can be fun,  but there's a limit people.  There's no shame running on a treadmill (inside) during a blizzard or extreme cold snap.  As a matter of fact some might say that it's a sign of intelligence.

6. Beware being too wimpy: this is the flip side of number 5.  Just because it's winter doesn't mean you have to stay indoors.  You can comfortably run outside even when the temps are in the teens or when there's some snow falling.  And the more you run outside, the easier it will be for you come springtime.

7.  Know when to say when: if you prefer to run after work, but find it daunting to face dark cold conditions, change it up a little; run at lunchtime if you can.  As an added bonus, you will get more sunlight which makes you feel better and is a great source of vitamin D.

Winter running is challenging, but you can still keep up with your training and fitness goals if you exercise a little caution and common sense.

The winter can kill your momentum; how I try to stay on track

It's cold.  I'm not talking about your average run of the mill cold weather, I'm talking about bone chilling, dangerous, stay indoors or risk frostbite cold.  We don't get it very often here in the Northeast; usually once or twice in the course of a winter, and then only for a couple of days.  I have great sympathy for dedicated runners in places like Minnesota where this is the norm for weeks at a time.  But the problem that extreme weather can have is that if you haven't planned for it, it can knock your training off track.  For those of us with ADHD it is especially risky.  We thrive on novelty and excitement.  However, this runs smack dab into our need for routine and structure.  If you have scheduled a time to run every single day, but suddenly you find that you have to shovel a foot of snow that just fell, your schedule is out of whack.  Throw in a few other distractions, like the kids being home from school, and your day could be shot.  Once my schedule is disrupted it's hard to get back on track.  Disrupt me for two or three days and my productivity takes a nose dive.

While it's not the end of the world to miss a day here or there running is the glue that holds the structure in my life together.  Therefore, I need to make sure that somehow I make plans to get that running in.  here are a few thoughts:

1. I belong to a gym for the express purpose of having a backup in the event of bad weather preventing me from getting outside to run.   It's worth the money to me, as I don't have room in my home for a treadmill.  Just knowing I have an option keeps me from getting stressed out at the thought of a stretch of bad weather.
2. I try to plan ahead and think about the upcoming weather scenarios.  What days are likely to be too hot/cold/stormy to go outside?  What else is going on that day?  When could I schedule a trip to the gym?
3. If it looks like Mother nature will be getting in the way of running, I may try to build my training schedule around that.  I make my rest day coincide with the big snow storm for a guilt free indoors experience.
4. Finally I try to remember that sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.  I could run outdoors in the snowstorm or whatever, but is the run going to be of a good enough quality to justify the risk of injury?

I'm pleased that I can use these strategies to stay on track and try to keep my training at least semi-normal.  I'm also utilizing skills that can be helpful in other areas of my life: planning, prioritizing, thinking ahead, and having a back up plan.  Now if only I could be just as focused on my diet.....