Monday, May 2, 2011

Tempted to get bored with it...

I've been running the same trail for the last year.  This trail gives the option to go two miles or cut through for a one mile.  I know every curve, every crack in the trail, and I have become very familiar with a few odd shape trees which I regard as milestones in my trek.  In fact, these trees now hold an emotional response when I see them because each one marks what I've accomplished and the upcoming finish to mile markers.  I often think to myself, "if I can just get to that tree around the corner..." and when I do there is a mental release that invigorates me again.  Strange stuff, this mental mojo of a runner.

I am at the point now, I need to break my "glass ceiling" and the thought of going round one more time almost makes me nauseous.  I have even opted to not make two two-mile loops but one two-mile and two one-miles.  The strategy is that I have mentally associated the short trail as my finish because it comes out at the end joining the two mile path.  So when I am fatigued I mentally try to trick myself into the "feeling" of accomplishment taking shorter loops.   Again I say, strange stuff, this mind over matter it takes to dictate my body into going the distance.

So today I tried to introduce something different and started my run a distance from the trail itself to add on a mile outside my usual path.  It's amazing the freedom I felt and the change of atmosphere was just what I needed.  I actually looked forward to the run back to my car that was a different path.   This taught me that keeping it fresh is something I need to be creative in as I move forward in adding distance.  

On another note, I ran across an article on keeping weight off after forty or as I call it "fighting flab after forty" OR "FFAF!"   This may be helpful to someone and God knows after forty we need ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET!

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