Tomorrow is my long run. Out of necessity, I've juggled my training schedule a bit and I'm not super-thrilled about doing a longer run tomorrow, after doing a middle distance run yesterday. Feeling a little pooped tonight and the legs are feeling less than fresh. Ahhh, there-in lies the beauty of the "training affect". We shouldn't approach our training with the mindset that we ought be "fresh" or "primed" for a workout. That's why it's "training" and "working out". Fresh is what you want to feel on race/event day, not training days. It's my ego that wants to feel fresh and ready to rock the long run. Project Test Pilot Rob Johansen and I talked about this a little on Saturday, it's the desire to have that feeling the night before a long training run that you just know it's going to be a great run. You can feel your energy peaking and you have a sense of excitement, making it tough to fall asleep the night before. Tonight? Not so much.
The other thing I'm reminding myself is that I'm looking to put my time in on the road. Therefore, to keep my ego out of the mix, tomorrow I'm taking a different route that I have never ran before. Meaning, I have no idea how far I will be running, I'm just hitting "start" on my watch, and that's it. No concern for pace, and since I don't know how far I'm running, there is no concern over that as well.
Often, when I do my long runs, it's a bit of a "walk about". Not in the classic Australian sense of the word, but with a similar philosophy. Head out the door with no real plan in place, just let the Spirit lead, see what happens.
Oh, and some of you recently asked about the other aspects of my practice: yes, I still do strength and toning workouts each week. Yes, I still do my yoga practice each week and yes, I still meditate each week. I just haven't written about them much recently, probably because running is my mistress, where the other activities are my faithful companions. I'm sure I'll have more to share on those sessions as well.
Peace,
Chris
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