Uncover your Power

Horror of horrors, I forgot to look at my running training schedule this morning to find out what type of run I am "supposed" to do today. So when I got to the gym, I just decided to fake it - I picked the hill interval button on the treadmill and just decided to go for it.

In the fabulous book I just finished, Born to Run, McDougall writes about how the ultrarunners adjust their running speed to meet the challenges that they face at the moment ... that is, on treacherous terrain they are going to slow their speed down compared to running on smooth, flat surfaces. Obviously, the treadmill presents no dangers to me (!), but varying incline levels does present something of a challenge - particularly since I generally run at 0%. So instead of pushing through at a lower speed that I would maintain throughout the whole run, I varied my speed with the hill intervals, taking the speed up when the interval went down and vice versa.

As I was running, I noticed my interval voice telling me, after thirty minutes, why don't you take the speed down a few notches and give yourself a break? But, I realized as I was running that this voice was there - even though I wasn't fatiguing. Strange - it was like I was subconsciously trying to sabotage myself. The more I run, I discover that I have this odd inner fear of running that is competing with the enthusiasm and joy that I find when I run, and the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when I complete a run. I have to be aware of that negativity, and take time to evaluate how I truly feel and whether I really need to take a break, or whether I can continue to work at the same level.

Today's workout:
50 min hill interval run (5.78 mi)
25 min. resistance training
45 min. yoga