Motivation

I am decidedly not a morning person. Sure, I am not one to sleep in, even after a late night, but I am not pleasant first thing in the morning. Training for a marathon forces you to become a morning person, or, at the least, it forces you to be up early in the morning.

I recently read a small column by legendary running coach Burt Yasso in the most recent issue of Runners' World. It was about excuses and motivation. It is certainly easier to make excuses to skip a run: tired, my bed is so cozy, my high thread count sheets are so soft, feel a little sluggish, etc. It's harder to find sources of motivation.

This morning's run (4.5+ miles of "Kenyan Outbacks"*) was motivated by: shame,** a comment from someone dear to me about the positive effects of running on my...bottom line, slowly (but steadily) firming thighs, bragging rights, the other morning runners waving as they passed by in the opposite direction, the blueberry-oatmeal pancakes I would have after my run (and ice bath),*** and Billy Idol.****

*In truth it was more of a Kenyan "Outback," as I didn't do any repeats. According to Runners' World, a Kenyan Outback is a run that is quicker in the second half than the first half. This can be done by a difficult series of intervals, but it can also be achieved by running for point A to point B in the first half of your run at a steady pace and running from point B back to point A at a steady, but faster, pace. I ran from point A to point B in 24 minutes and from point B to Point A in 21:50. The purpose of the Kenyan Outback is to allow you to finish strong. I'll write more on these later.

**See my post of July 5, 2009 regarding the motivating power of shame.

***Ice baths are unpleasant, to say the least. I have not yet gone all out to put actual ice cubes in my cold tub, but I do fill the tub as high as possible with only cold water and sit in it for at least 10 minutes. Ice baths are supposed to be a great way to help your muscles recover post-hard workout. Again, as with Kenyan Outbacks, I'll write more on ice baths later.

****Several Billy Idol tracks, including "Rebel Yell" and "Dancing With Myself," are great running tracks. I consider the Billy Idol songs a little mini-shout out to my dad, who loves Billy Idol. Please note, my father is a man in his mid-60's who grew up in the Midwest and is very conservative. If you know my dad, try to picture him rocking out (or, as he would say, "shucking and jiving") to "White Wedding" during a family car trip.

Running Just Might Be A Pearl Izumi Ad (End of Week 8)

The last few months I have noticed several ads from Pearl Izumi in both Runner's World and Outside which denounce jogging. No, Pearl Izumi has not abandoned the sports in which you lace up sneakers and hit the road, trail, or treadmill* and move in a motion that is faster than walking. Rather, Pearl Izumi is making a distinction between running and jogging.

I read an article (possibly on www.runnersworld.com) that said whatever your pace, you are a runner and not a jogger. Being a jogger implied that you were not serious about the sport, so if you ran a 4-minute mile or a 16-minute mile you were a runner. Since my pace is in that 4-to-16-minute mile range, I decided that I must be a runner.

The Pearl Izumi ads play on the same notion, and they even reference a website for Pearl Izumi gear and "inspiration": www.wearenotjoggers.com/home. The "We Are Not Joggers" site contains two chapters (so far) of a flip-through book which explains the difference between running and jogging. Basically--running is harder. You do not look cute when you run. Running is painful. Running is a feeling, and that feeling is not good. The site is quick to point out that runners can jog, but really they are just running slowly. However, joggers never run. No matter how fast they jog. Basically, Pearl Izumi is making running a bit elitist.

If you know me at all, you know elitism is not one of my turn-offs. However, I am not sure if running wants me to be part of its club. I have been training for 8 weeks, and in my mind, I should be a considerably better runner than I currently am. Sure, I can run for a long time. And, I can run for long distances. But, I wish I could run for a long time and/or a long distance (the two can be mutually-exclusive) at a faster pace. It is hard to remind myself that I am new at running, and the initiation into the running club is hard. My long run on Saturday was miserable (see above, running is hard and does not feel good). I ran two good miles, and then a combination of my mind, my body, and my ego just gave up--would not let me run, run slow, or jog. I could not overcome the mental hurdle that morning. I wasn't really sore; I wasn't really breathing heavily; but, I just wasn't in the mental part of my running game. Like when Andy Roddick always loses in big tournaments. Everyone knows he's a great tennis player with a huge serve and serious athleticism--but he falls apart in the mental game, and he loses.

My mental game was non-existent on Saturday. I ended up walking another four miles that morning, mostly in tears. I felt betrayed by running. Kicked out of the club. But really, I was betrayed by me. I want to be part of that running club, so today, I'm going to try again.

*Pearl Izumi's "We Are Not Joggers" website specifically states that while their shoes work just fine on treadmills, you cannot run on a treadmill--you are only jogging, no matter what your pace is.

What goes down (Run 17)...

Yesterday morning was a forty minute training run--one that was supposed to be easy. I headed out down Riverside (on the start of the Bloomsday route) with Chad just before six in the morning. The start of the run was an easy downhill. Somehow while running downhill, I did not consider that on the way back, I would have to run uphill.

We headed east towards the Centennial Trail, crossed the footbridge, and had to run uphill on the looping trail as it makes its way to the Hamblem (Hamlen?) Conservation area on the hill directly across the river from the hill we just ran down. The uphill run was a pretty decent climb, but I focused on keeping upright and keeping my arms low to conserve energy and power my run up the hill. The trail loops back and forth for a good distance, all the while on an incline. I remember yelling "flatten out," as my quads really started to burn. However, I rocked that hill and we ran a bit on the flat portion before it was time to turn around and head back.

Downhill on the winding portion of the trail was a nice break. Of course, every time I run downhill I think of an article I read in Runner's World about Lance Armstrong's marathon training. Lance asserted that cycling downhill was a pleasure while running downhill was work. In the same article, Lance also claimed he could "phone in" a half-marathon. Now, Lance is unarguably one of the best endurance athletes on the planet. I don't expect to be able to phone-in my half-marathon, but I am a bit disheartened when I think about his position that running is so much more work than cycling. If Lance thinks it's hard work, I might be doomed.

Crossing the bridge after the downhill, winding trail, the Riverside hill loomed before us. Another steady climb, that, after the previous hill work, required a brief walk break. I did manage to finish strong, after completely close to four miles of hill running before 7 in the morning. However, I am relegating this running route to the back shelf until hill work actually appears in my training schedule.