Since my last post it has been over a Month. In that month I have trained harder than I have in my Military Career. At the same time I was able to take the time and get my miles in to train for the two Half-Marathons I have signed up for in April.
As I looked at my picture last month I was not totally on board with it, so I started to revamp what I had been doing. It got more difficult with the work tempo increasing each day. However, I was able to overcome most of the time constraints staying motivated throughout January and into February.
My picture stays in my mind as I have had to change my goals for the year. Since I will not be able to race as much this year I have to go for mileage instead of bling. Many runners these days are all about the Bling or the swag. Don’t be ashamed if you are, it is perfectly natural to run for the reward at the end of the race. For some it is the bling, for others it is the euphoria of making it the distance. I have seen first time runners break into straight tears of joy when they finish their first 5K. That impresses me more than the multi marathoner. The beginning is all about going for the goal. You either will be strong and push yourself the 5000 meters or call it a day after the first couple hundred meters. These are the same runners who progress slowly going from 5K to 10K to Half-Marathon, silently pursuing their own dream. They talk to runners in the corral with them and get advice from “seasoned” Runners who usually will be friendly and offer what they have done for success. So for this year I will only get one new Bling with a possible 2. The miles however, will continue to mount as I hit the road again.
I have noticed that when I train for the sake of staying in shape I run a lot further and with a lot more freedom. It is like finding your favorite hobby all over again, and may have made me a better runner for it.
Have you ever had to change your approach to racing? Or to anything in Life? If so what did you do?
