The Mindf*uck Has Officially Become Useful

You know how sometimes you get tripped up, solely based on your mind telling you to stop, you're tired already, and you can't run 20 miles anyway...yeah, the Mindf*ck.

Well, I have so mastered the art of mindf*ckery that I have actually come around full-circle to back to putting it to good use for me. (And I do thank my regular running buddy for putting up with it, "Streetlight." You're the best, MWAH!) That's how I really know the distance running has made a big change in my life. I find myself making $hit up and creating little falsehoods to get me through just about anything these days. Oh, you know how it starts on the runs:

M2's Inner Voice: oh, come on it's just one tiny little hill and
then you get to get freaky with the Downhill the rest of the way, and then it's
flat.. Easy Peasy.
Reality: It is one large hill, followed by a short downhill and then two more uphills. It is in no way "flat."

M2IV: It's only a 5K left and then you are done.
R: It's a 5M left and then another .5 after that...and maybe one more mile after that. And then you are done.

M2IV: You only have to keep running to the next streetlight, and then you can walk if you want
R: You will not be walking at that streetlight, or any other. You will just keep repeating the streetlight thing until you are back home, or your RB tells you to shut up already.

M2IV: Iactually prefer running at 5:30AM because then I only have to
shower once per day (as opposed to the before-work shower plus the after-run
shower if you go later in the day).
R: The shower part is true, but I still am not a big fan of waking up at 5:00AM. Nor will I ever be.

M2Iv: Peanut butter M&Ms are an excellent pre- (and post- for that matter) run snack; protein, "healthy" fat, and carbs for "energy."
R: Duh, candyholic, it's the M&Ms that make you feel like crap at mile 2. (yeah,
I can tell I am upping the miles, the peanut butter obsession has officially
begun)

And of course there are all the numerous Chunk It Up lies that you tell yourself to get through the long runs, "It's only 6 miles out; just stick on another mile out, you won't even notice it; 12 miles, halfway done; if you're going to do 14, you might as well just do 16...or 20...; one mile to go, that's only another 5 minutes of my life, I can do this for 5 more minutes (when of course it's going to be 10 minutes); after that other hill, this one isn't really even a hill, I'll call it more like flat...and I can run on flat easily...; just a mile to go, a mile is nothing; etc. etc. etc.

I had a nice midday run yesterday from work. Iwas up until midnight Monday night doing some work, and had another long day in the office planned yesterday and knew I was probably going to be still working last night. So I brought my gear and hit Wash Park for an afternoon run. The weather was good, a sunny 40 degrees, clear and bright. The park has two main routes around it--a larger gravel trail loop around the very outside, and a somewhat shorter paved road loop inside the park. I typically run the gravel loop because 1) it's longer 2) it's gravel and 3) there are no cyclists to annoy me. Well, yesterday it was still snow-covered and I didn't feel like running on snow, so I took to the paved road loop which was clean and mostly dry. Only problem was that I didn't know exactly how far it is around it, cause I never run on it. And Gizmo went to sleep on me just a mile into the run, so I had to wing it. I figured it to be about 2 miles. And it is a mile to get to the park from my office, so I was thinking I would do 2 loops, plus the mile each way to the office for about a 6 mile run. And maybe I would tack on a little more if I felt good at the end. So that's what I did. And upon getting back to the office and chatting with coworkers, they informed me that that loop was more than 2 miles. And I had tacked on quite a bit. So I was curious to see exactly what I had done in my hour and 20 minute run, if it was more than 7 miles. Turns out it was 8.8. I mindf*cked myself into thinkging I was only doing 6 little miles and turned out a good tempo 8.8 (on an empty stomach, I might add)! It's amazing what you can do when your mind thinks you're doing something else.... yeah, well I am finding myself doing that in a LOT of areas of my life lately.

The Non-Blogging Blogger

Yeah, yeah, I've been all anti-bloggy lately, I know. I've just been like, doing a lot of stuff¹ in the real world and the thought of blogging made my eyebrows twitch, so I basically abstained. But now I am twitching TO blog again, so la-dee-dah here I am again, alighting like a little peanut butter-encrusted² fairy back upon blogland.

I have been running, more or less, the last month. Though I definitely wouldn't call what I am doing training by any stretch of the imagination, I have mainly been running for fun (hey, it's above 30 degrees! I should go outside and enjoy it! I think I will!) and friendship (running group) and occasionally to purge myself of the peanut butter coating (horrid indoor track punishment sessions). It's been working out well. My foot has held strong and all traces of the Evil Stress Fracture are gone. I would like to think that I've been much more aware in my running since that horrid event, but I am not sure of the reality of that. But I will say that I haven't done any stupid things like two-a-days or going longer than I am ready for, or heck, even going sub-8 minute miles (I know, sloth). But I am calling this my "off season" in preparation for what is definitely going to be on my plate next spring: the Colorado Colfax Marathon on May 16. Depending on how the early spring goes, I may also visit my BFF in Louisiana and tackle the Mardi Gras Marathon on February 28, just for fun and for the experience. But Colfax is definitely ON.

And finally, the Highlands Ranch Running Club (HRRC-yo) is finally legit with a blog of its very own....perhaps we can spice it up with some guest bloggers?! Any volunteers?

The holidays are just around the corner, and with it New Years Resolutions (I suppose this year will be Year of the Marathon Redux) and I am already thinking about what else 2010 will hold...the last couple of years have been big goal getters for me...what will I do with 2010? Hmmm....

¹One large task that has had me blog-averse has been a curricular book-writing project. After writing all day for work, writing for blog didn't appeal. Plus I haven't been racing or doing anything runningly-interesting so I didn't see the point. Sue me.

²I have had the most insanely ridiculous obsession with peanut butter the past month, that I have completely given up trying to curb it. I am all-peanut-butter, all-the-time (and NOT just the m&m's folks). Which is really only inconvenient for my Shortie1, who is deathly allergic. Whatev.

Early TG Spirit

Because Thanksgiving is fast approaching, because it is my favorite holiday, and because I am in a dang thankful frame of mind this week, I am going to bandwagon it and do a gratitude list today, too. Here is what I am presently thankful for:

1. The Healing Power of the Human Body - Healed (praise Jebus I'm healed and whole-ish) and able to run again.

2. Mad Men - Don Draper, nom-nom-nom. By GOD I love that show. Full stop.

3. Comcast OnDemand - so I can watch the entire season of Mad Men over and over and over and over again, until the next new episodes start...Don Draper, nom-nom-nom.

4. HRRC* runners - what a great group of folks that I am so glad to have met and gotten to know.

5. Peanut Butter M&Ms - because nothing says, "I defeat you, stress!" like saying it with your mouse raised and a mouthful (and I do mean FULL) of peanut butter M&M's.

6. New Running Shoes - Asic's 2140's I love you! I resisted giving up my 2130's but so far the 40's are a decent replacement. Plus they are pink. Yay/yay.

My week so far has involved high amounts of stress...which I am now *smartly* managing with small doses of low-mileage running, meditation, and peanut butter. I have worked up to 3-4 miles, and am *smartly* running every other day and gradually adding distance. Emphasis on gradually. I got to run with the running group again last Saturday, and turned in a nice, foot pain-free run of 3.64 miles. Then did about 3 miles at the track with a couple of other running buddies on Monday. Planing to do a *smart* run of 2 miles or so tonight. And the fact that I can once again say that, is all I need to be thankful. Well, that and the M&Ms. And maybe a bit of soft porn (i.e. Mad Men) here and there...but that's all I really need. Really.

*Highlands Ranch Running Club, for the uninitiated

Blog Sabbatical: Officially Over

Weeeeell, in case no one noticed (highly likely) I've been taking a little sabbatical the past couple of weeks. I got hit with a triple-trifecta of craziness (yes, that's 9 degrees of crazy) that forced me to temporarily abandon my lowest ROI activities, one of which, unfortunately tends to be blogging. (I'm sorry blogging, I do love you and you are important to me. It's just that, quite frankly, you hover near the bottom of my Top 8 Most Important Activities and you tend to be the most congenial when ignored: the kids get in my face and yell or poke me, the hubs whines and pouts, work witholds financial reward, the dogs poop on the carpet, Running pimp-slaps me, and the PB M&M's ¹ haunt me if I ignore any of them...so...I'm so sorry, but you drew the short straw. Luckily, I know you'll forgive me. Heck, you probably weren't even mad in the first place.)

Anyway, I am back from busy work projects, busy home projects, busy kids activities, busy long holiday weekend with guests, and super-busy marathon training weeks. Plus I was sick somewhere in there, though I think I only officially allotted a day for it as there was simply no time to dwell any longer on it. BUT, antibiotics in hand, soccer in full swing, marathon taper coming, and 3 rooms re-decorated and I am BACK, baby.

I've got a gazillion running stats to update on Daily Mile (thank you gizmo for keeping track of them for me as I didn't have capacity in my temporal flux capacitor to do it on my own) and some running observations to spew, so my darling blog you are back to Top 3 5 8. Top 8 for sure.
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¹ - The peanut butter M&M's have made a reappearance on the top shelf of the panty (at first I thought they climbed out of the trash can and came back to haunt me, but no, hubs bought them...coincidence? I think not)...and I've determined that as long as I stay under eating the 5.4-pounds threshold, my running doesn't seem to suffer, either. Win-win!

Life and M&Ms

So while I can allegedly hold out for Mindf*ck, I cannot apparently make the same claim about Life (or M&Ms¹). Life has gotten in the way of my running the last few days, and the whole "marathon training plan" has looked a lot more like "paint the entire effing house, eat Dairy Queen, host impromptu visitors, forget about cooking, and don't even think you'll have time to run, sister."

So since Life had other plans for me last week, I ended up taking 4 whole days off running. In a row. (Not even a nice long walk or hike to bridge the gap!) I know!!!! I am choosing to pretend that I was actually just resting up for the next few hard (mileage-building, back-to-the-track-workout-type) weeks I've got coming. And house painting (the kind where you hang off a 32-foot ladder and oh-so-carefully paint the entire exterior of the house...with a brush) is cross-training, right? Well, now that the interior painting is done and the house put back together, and the exterior is 80% (...ok maybe 70% done, hubs gets the rest), I am back to the training plan. Today that started off with a nice, brisk 4.4 mile-morning run. The weather was actually quite chilly and fall-like--I even wore a long-sleeve, something I haven't done since about March--and made me salivate in anticipation for the upcoming fall running season. My gawd, but how I love to run in the fall!

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¹ - I guess Life hadn't quite released his grip on me yet today, as a busy morning resulted in me forgetting my lunch and midday snacks and thus forcing me to supplement with a gyro and approximatly 5.4 pounds of peanut butter M&Ms. Peanut butter is a power food though, right?