Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Freeing myself of the burden of improving my time!

Ran 6.........well.........technically..........oh, never mind!....I'm so damn caught up in listing every single walk break that I take....and every single pee break that I take.....like I'm some how cheating by resting my legs every now and then & sitting down on the job because I have to use the restroom....for PETE'S SAKE!!!! In reviewing my past blog entries I realized how obsessed I've become with this. SO NO MORE!!!! I read an article in a running magazine that emphasized that even the best of the best take walking breaks and it improves their time....but you don't hear these world class athletes saying "yeah, I ran the marathon in 2 hours 43 minutes.....BUT....I had to take a couple walk breaks.....oh, and I had to pee at mile 10"......for cry'n out loud!!! I went out today without my gps watch because I'm tired....so so tired....of staring at my wrist every 60 seconds to see what my pace is. I keep saying that I don't care what my time is and yet I'm obsessed with keeping track of it! So I've made the executive decision to keep the gps at home for the weekday runs and only bring it along on my long runs. And I feel liberated because of it......I'M FREE!!!! And quite frankly I think my window of opportunity for improving my time has been closed for a few weeks now. In my mind this last month of training is about increasing the mileage and not increasing speed.

So today's 6 miles felt ok...legs felt pretty heavy...I'm still very sore from Sundays 16 miler...I could definitely tell the difference this week without the ice bath....last week after the ice bath I had minimal soreness....but this week I didn't do the ice-bath & I'm very sore. The humidity was a little suffocating...but I did it.

This Saturday the TNT group is hosting a 20 mile "mock marathon" somewhere near Ann Arbor....I think.......I'm actually looking forward to it...This 20 miler is the peak of our training and then the training tapers off for the next 3 weeks. That's probably why I'm looking forward to it....it marks the turning point of our training! Hallelujah!!! I'm still enjoying this sport and I'm enjoying seeing the progress I've made in the last 4 1/2 months....I enjoy working towards a goal...I'm a very goal oriented person....it's what keeps me going....BUT.....I really need a break. I'm tired. So very tired. After Sunday's long run I felt Awful....just couldn't get off the couch. I layed there all day thinking....WHY am I doing this to myself?! With that said...I have no doubt that I'll be doing this to myself again next year and probably repeating those exact same words.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Focus on your potential instead of your limitations."

1 comment:

Kelly said...

Tammy...you'd still be an inspiration to others if you took 100 pee breaks. You would finish the race in about 23 hours, but you'd still be an inspiration to all those around you that wished they had the courage to do what you've set out to do (and are so close to accomplishing). I want to help you out though. I know how those gps watches can tie you down and cause frustration. Why don't you just give it to me, and rid yourself of the agony. I'm here for you! On a serious note, our group of friends decided to run for two reasons. For one, it was a way to stay fit and have some fun with friens. More importantly though, we did this to honor those that have struggled more than we'll ever experience through running. Your persistence and determination has honored them maybe more than you know! Keep it up - you're doing great! 4 MORE WEEKS BABY!!!

- Randy