To set the stage, it was 52 and raining when I got to the park for my run. Yes, on July 1st, 52 and raining. I know, I know, it could be 110 and smoldering hot, but I was not excited to run in the rain - AGAIN. And, as I conned myself into getting out of the car & committing to at least 6 miles (my training plan called for 9), I realized how much discipline goes into my running.
- Getting my kids ready & out of the house when Michael travels, so I can take them to the gym & I can run.
- Waking up at 5:00 am on week days so I can squeeze my run in before work.
- Waking up early on weekends so I can eat & digest before my morning run, to minimize the impact to the family.
- Planning my weekends around my run schedule.
- Eating well before runs, because I've learned that valuable lesson many times of what poor pre-run fueling will do during a long run. ;-)
- Planning & organizing every day, to create that window of time for running. Life is busy, & if it's not planned out, it will not happen.
- Just the act of getting outside (or on the treadmill) is probably the hardest part for me right now. I do it, but I'm not going to pretend it's easy.
And, in huge/slightly scary news, I got asked to join a Hood to Coast relay team yesterday! One of their other members bailed, so I'm filling in. I'm super excited & very nervous to see which legs I get.
Much, much more to come, and after all of my hemming & hawing about my run yesterday, I ended up with my fastest 9 miler ever, and by far my most enjoyable long run. Boom! Love that.
Questions for you:
-Have you done a relay? Tips? Tricks?
-How should I think about training?
-What kind of discipline do you put into your running?
