mindfirerunner

So, hill workout was a blast. No really. Don’t be fooled. I run the same route usually most days and am quite familiar with every step, slump in the road, uneven surface and even the clumps of dirt left by construction crews. I usually run this route on early morning runs because I know it well which tends to make me feel safer and less prone to twisting an ankle or tripping over something in the dark. It’s hard enough to run in the dark, but add in a new route and a little bit of dirt road and it becomes a whole new experience.

I had to leave for an early meeting and knew I had to be ready to hit the road earlier than normal. I needed to be organized and not waste a minute of my morning getting out the door. I wrote down my run since there were so many segments, found my head lamp, and gathered my running clothes the night before. I thought about taking my sticky note on my run but didn’t want to be distracted trying to read my notes or fumbling to get it out of my pocket, so I spent a few minutes before bed memorizing it and running it through in my head.

3:45 came and it was time to get moving, but I was t-i-r-e-d. A poor night of sleep and it’s easy to find an excuse (any excuse) to not get out and exercise, but I spent my time the night before planning everything so that I would be ready and I didn’t want all of that effort to go to waste. So, out the door I went. It was definitely a challenging workout and there were times I felt myself slacking a bit, but I could hear my coach in my head yelling “Get up on your toes!”. On I went.

My legs didn’t feel too bad after, but I was certainly ready for a nap come mid-morning. Last night was no better for sleep and with a massive blood headache and a pending snow storm I knew I wouldn’t get any more sleep and wouldn’t feel any better lying in bed. My legs felt heavy and my head hurt.

My mom used to give me grief every time I complained and would say “Aw, my heart bleeds peanut butter”. I’m tired and it’s easy to think about everything that hurts or that didn’t go as well as planned. I can dwell on those few and really minute things, or I can look back and know I really kicked it yesterday on my hill workout and I’m tired for a reason. I might be tired now, but come Saturday’s long run I’ll be ready. Somedays you just have to give it everything you’ve got, regardless of many things can get in the way of making it even happen. Nobody said it would be easy. Besides, if it were easy everyone would do it right?

Mom, this one’s for you.

Wednesday’s Hill Workout Summary: