Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Trail run

53 minutes
6 miles and change

I ended up doing about a mile more than I wanted to on this run because I took a wrong turn. No big deal since I was running in some beautiful woods along Lake Champlain, but it made me realize (again) how important the mental aspect of running is to my performance. When I realized that I took a wrong turn, my pace definitely slowed as I tried to figure my way out. I knew that the detour would only add about a mile or two to my total, but not knowing what was around the next corner or where I'd end up tapped my motivation. Once I got back on track, my pace picked up.

I also noticed on this run that it takes me a solid 30 minutes to warm up. I felt slow and sluggish for the first 30 minute of this run, fast and loose for the remaining 23 minutes.

That's all for now. It is gorgeous today, soI'm heading out for a quick 3 - 5 miler with a colleague.

Later boys.

3 comments:

Agricola said...

Is it mental state or just focus? Running is much easier if you're able to focus on running rather than worrying about where you're going.

I like trail running, it's fun and a great change from the road.

Steve DiMattia said...

When I start a long ride, all I want to do for the first 30 minutes is get off and lie down. If I can push past the first 30, the rest is easy. Must be something about the heart, or the need for warm-up, or getting far enough from home or the landscape.

Agricola said...

Totally agree about the first 30. when I ran the marathon I actually got to a point that I didn't feel right until 40 mins in and I just kept telling myself to weather the first 40 and the rest would be fine (until the Queensboro Bridge and then it all went to hell). That's actually why I want to stretch out the dailies -- they are never comfortable under 30, and then only comfortable for 3 . . .