mindfirerunner

My coach tells me it’s hill month (also known as “hell” month). Okay, I’m game. I took one look at my workout scheduled for tomorrow and was less than certain how I was supposed to run it. I thought I knew, but after he explained it to me I realized I had no idea what was in store for me this month. The workout looks something like this:

2 mile warm up

4x100m. Hill

• 4×1 min. on/off
• 1×3 min. on/off
• 4xmid hill
• 4×30 sec. on/off

2 mile cool down

Basically, it’s a hill workout on acid. I told him I wanted to be challenged, so no complaints here. It’s time to go beyond the normal boring winter routes and start getting race ready. The IT band is healed and ready to be put to work (with the rest of me). I’ve been climbing back up in mileage over the past month, giving myself time to heal and I’m glad I did. I really did not want to lose running time, but kept thinking about needing to be ready to put in some tougher miles over the next couple of months and knowing if I didn’t take it easy and let the IT band heal I would be sitting on the sidelines for much longer.

I’ve enjoyed getting the miles back in, but have noticed that I’ve had a few weeks off and with less mileage. In other words, I’m feeling it. I hadn’t been sleeping well before; no problem with that now as I collapse in bed before 9PM more consistently. My legs have felt like lead and my pace has been inconsistent, but with each day it gets better. I’m reminded of what it takes to get started in the first place and how not keeping up with your running plans can make it feel like you’re starting over every time you hit the road. Most people have felt how good it feels at the end of a run, workout, etc., but if you don’t keep it up it’s easy to lose and harder to get back on track.

Stay motivated. Stick to your plan. Maybe put The Righteous Brothers on your iPod.