Pushing Myself

Today was a great day.  The plan was to bike some and also run.  I wanted to ride in the morning before work, but I couldn't sleep last night.  I had to squeeze the ride in after work.  Then I had to run and get it done before some basketball games in the evening.  And, oh yeah, it was hot again today.

I went out and rode 20 miles early in the afternoon.  The plan wasn't to ride hard, but I often do.  I felt good and the pace was quick early on, so I pushed it a bit.  I think I rode faster than I ever have (4:07 pace) and that was longer than most of my rides.

I needed to get my Trexler run in for the week, so after an hour and a half of rest, I began a 4 miler at my favorite place to run.  Initially, I was just planning 2 miles out and 2 more back going to the normal route.  I'm tired of that though, so I decided to change it up and run most of the run in the opposite direction.

Every direction is downhill from the beginning, so that is a good way to start.  The ride did loosen up my legs, but they were still a bit sore.  I decided to bring my GoPro and get some good photos since I wasn't running hard today.  As I was running down some of the early hills, I saw Art from the LVRR, hiking with his girlfriend.  They might've been the only people that would see me with a camera on my head and not think I was completely nuts.  Then again, they might still think I'm nuts.  After all, I was also running in a lot of heat.

I brought the handheld along again and that helped with my hydration.  I still can't decided whether I'll run the race with it or not.  I probably will.  I walked the early hills to be conservative.  It didn't take too long until I was at 1 mile.  I thought about turning around there, but I was out on a fairly flat section, so I decided to keep going.

Eventually, I came to the woods.  I decided to run through there.  I figured that I would keep going until it started to drop and go downhill.  That actually didn't happen until right around 1.5 miles, so that was perfect.  I ran to there and turned around.  Most of my run would be done now when I got back to the Environmental Center.

I passed some people walking along the jeep trail.  They must've been from KidsPeace.  I also saw a deer that I startled on the main trail.  I couldn't get its photo.  The main trail section is rolling.  I decided to keep pushing on and running.

I had been taking it easy and was planning to continue that.  I had even walked on the slight uphill of the jeep road.  Now, however, I decided to change it up.  I focused on pushing myself through the soreness and tiredness.  My goal was to some how, some way run all the way to the Environmental Center.  After all, that would only be a little over a mile of running.

I made it through the rolling hills and was on my way to the challenging part.  Whenever I've started from the zoo, I've been unable to make it all the way to the top of this hill during the run.  I hope that isn't the case on Sunday.  I figured that trying to run up it today wouldn't cause any physical adaptations, but it could help me develop my mental toughness.

When I started up the hill, I just tried to focus on each step at a time.  I tried to look right in front of me and not at the top of the hill.  Occasionally, I took a peek though.  I developed a saying, "the hill is only 60% physical.  The other 90% is mental."  That actually seemed to help and I made it to the top.  I was dead and I didn't go fast, but I survived.  It felt so rewarding to get to the top.

There is still a short uphill to the Environmental Center, after a brief recovery.  I made it up there.  After accomplishing so much, I decided that I would try the same thing on the next steep hill.  This one is never easy.  I sputtered along, but I stayed focused and made it to the top, although I did so very slowly.  Still, it was another great sense of accomplishment.

By now, the hard hills were out of the way.  I was inside the final mile and knew I had to keep running.  I ran part way down one hill and then turned around at 3.5 miles.  I knew the final hill would actually be the toughest one on the way back.  I figured I now could conquer that though.

The short hill before the final one was a bit of a challenge.  My legs were very fatigued by then and I was sweating a lot.  I had to press on.  Eventually, I made it to the top and finished the run.  The last two miles or so were just about as challenging as any two miles of running have ever done.

I'm glad I was mentally able to test myself running over the hills today.  That is a big boost heading into the race.  On race day, I need to focus on steps going up the hill and just remain focused only on that hill and not look at the top of it.  If I can do that, I can push myself farther than I think I can.

The race is going to be interesting.  Last year, I held back and ran pretty smart, but I couldn't catch many people.  This year, I plan to go out hard early on.  I'm hoping that I can then recover some in the middle and push again toward the end.  I just hope I don't kill myself too much too early.  Regardless, I think this strategy is worth a try.

4 miles - 44:19 (11:05 pace)