So, in the past two days I have run a 6.2 mile workout with hill repeats (about 0.5 miles from the corner of Regester and Overbrook up Overbrook to Sherwood) and then 16 miles this morning. The total of 22.2, puts me at 681.6 miles total three days before the close of week 17 (although I will take tomorrow off as recommended) and that puts me on E County Rd 300 N in Sullivan, IN, approaching the Illinois border.
I am a bit south of Terre Haute and a bit northwest of Linton. Terre Haute translates to high ground. The Catholic church located in Linton is St Peter. That combination of facts actually sets me up well to address a few topics about lessons from running the past two days.
So, Peter happens to be my confirmation name. At some point in my blog I've mentioned that one reason I chose the name is that, just like each of Kevin, David, and Frick it has five letters. That would be a stupid reason to choose a confirmation name if that were all. I also thought that I was high and mighty in my faith and pure of heart when I was in eighth grade. No, of course, I have no illusion that I am any more pure of heart than the next person. And I am not on any higher ground.
That realization is part of my maturation.
My vulnerability and fallibility are captured in my tattoo. Commented on that recently so won't dwell on it again.
But I will comment on fallibility in other ways. First, obviously with the fall I took earlier this week. The 6.2 yesterday as I said involved running up the Overbrook hill multiple times. I ran over. Ran the loop that started from Overbrook and Sherwood to Sherwood and Regester and then down Regester to run up the hill each time. Today, I did something different. I began the course similarly to where I was running on Wednesday when I tripped--up my street, across Lake to Bellona, down Bellona to Melrose, and then across Melrose. I realized why I tripped. Some morning I'll have to get a picture but when I run right at the side of the road there is a small concrete "gutter" or edge that is right next to the driveway for some type of nursing facility. The concrete is in sections. Several of the sections are very uneven. Simple solution--don't run so close to the side of the road next time. This helped me to feel less vulnerable as I moved past what happened the other day.
I felt vulnerable just a little later. My journey continued across Melrose and then down Charles to Homeland. The streetlights wer eout from just south of Northern Parkway to just south of the cathedral. I trusted that I could run there without tripping but it did worry me.
My course the proceeded across Homeland to York, briefly north on York to Woodbourne, across to Loch Raven, south (although I crossed too soon to run past the electronic device that is mostly intended to tell cars they are going to fast but on which I like to register 7 or 8 MPH), the across Cold Spring, down Hillen, across Argonne, down Harford to 31st, across the the road that takes me to Lake Montebello, around the Lake, back out onto 33rd, up to Loch Raven, down to 25th, across to Guilford, up to 29th, across to Calvert, up to University, over to St Paul, up to 39th, back to York, up to Bellona, across to Northern, around on Bellona, up Clearspring, across Northern to Chinquapin, up to Lake, across to Northwood, up to Woodson, up Cedarcroft, across Yorkshire and toward home to finish off 16. I doubled up for less than 1/4 mile of the whole 16. Other than the dark street, I did not feel vulnerable. But I was able to use my 16 mile experience in my discussion about adolescent vaccination for the health care business case competition I had to provide opening remarks for this morning. It was a reminder to me that some of my health behaviors (lack of influence vaccination) leave me vulnerable.
Finally, I focus on the vulnerability I exhibited yesterday in my hill run. The run was supposed to be at an 8:30 pace that has become my go to pace most days. The non-uphill parts were near that but the uphill parts were fast. Crazy that they would be fast but they were.
I thought about why.
Earlier yesterday morning, I had read the blog of a fellow runner I respect. She ran Boston this year. She had a great race. Her splits looked a lot like mine from last year although she had not lost it so much at the end. I thought that I was done with Boston. No more worries about buddies. No more worries about running it ever again. But I was wrong. As I read her blog I thought about my race from a year ago. I went back and looked at my splits. Heartbreak hill wasn't even the slowest mile for me. No, I sped up significantly in mile 22, then got slower and slower for 23-26. The last two were over 8 min/mile. I was annoyed that a year earlier I had not found a way to regain my legs after heartbreak hill.
So I pushed my hill workout harder than I was supposed to.
Is it a fatal flaw? Probably not.
But it does show how fallible I am in terms of going against the plan. It does show my vulnerability to the "mind games" of running. It does show how much I can make big mistakes if I am not careful. If I fail to move past stupid things. If I fail to let bygones be bygones and focus on the hear and now which is all I can control anyway.
P.S. My run this morning almost killed a cat. The cat got scared as I approached and it ran into the street. It just made it across before a car which didn't even slow down raced past. I would have been mortified if that cat who crossed Woodbourne as I ran east just west of The Alameda had died.
I am a bit south of Terre Haute and a bit northwest of Linton. Terre Haute translates to high ground. The Catholic church located in Linton is St Peter. That combination of facts actually sets me up well to address a few topics about lessons from running the past two days.
So, Peter happens to be my confirmation name. At some point in my blog I've mentioned that one reason I chose the name is that, just like each of Kevin, David, and Frick it has five letters. That would be a stupid reason to choose a confirmation name if that were all. I also thought that I was high and mighty in my faith and pure of heart when I was in eighth grade. No, of course, I have no illusion that I am any more pure of heart than the next person. And I am not on any higher ground.
That realization is part of my maturation.
My vulnerability and fallibility are captured in my tattoo. Commented on that recently so won't dwell on it again.
But I will comment on fallibility in other ways. First, obviously with the fall I took earlier this week. The 6.2 yesterday as I said involved running up the Overbrook hill multiple times. I ran over. Ran the loop that started from Overbrook and Sherwood to Sherwood and Regester and then down Regester to run up the hill each time. Today, I did something different. I began the course similarly to where I was running on Wednesday when I tripped--up my street, across Lake to Bellona, down Bellona to Melrose, and then across Melrose. I realized why I tripped. Some morning I'll have to get a picture but when I run right at the side of the road there is a small concrete "gutter" or edge that is right next to the driveway for some type of nursing facility. The concrete is in sections. Several of the sections are very uneven. Simple solution--don't run so close to the side of the road next time. This helped me to feel less vulnerable as I moved past what happened the other day.
I felt vulnerable just a little later. My journey continued across Melrose and then down Charles to Homeland. The streetlights wer eout from just south of Northern Parkway to just south of the cathedral. I trusted that I could run there without tripping but it did worry me.
My course the proceeded across Homeland to York, briefly north on York to Woodbourne, across to Loch Raven, south (although I crossed too soon to run past the electronic device that is mostly intended to tell cars they are going to fast but on which I like to register 7 or 8 MPH), the across Cold Spring, down Hillen, across Argonne, down Harford to 31st, across the the road that takes me to Lake Montebello, around the Lake, back out onto 33rd, up to Loch Raven, down to 25th, across to Guilford, up to 29th, across to Calvert, up to University, over to St Paul, up to 39th, back to York, up to Bellona, across to Northern, around on Bellona, up Clearspring, across Northern to Chinquapin, up to Lake, across to Northwood, up to Woodson, up Cedarcroft, across Yorkshire and toward home to finish off 16. I doubled up for less than 1/4 mile of the whole 16. Other than the dark street, I did not feel vulnerable. But I was able to use my 16 mile experience in my discussion about adolescent vaccination for the health care business case competition I had to provide opening remarks for this morning. It was a reminder to me that some of my health behaviors (lack of influence vaccination) leave me vulnerable.
Finally, I focus on the vulnerability I exhibited yesterday in my hill run. The run was supposed to be at an 8:30 pace that has become my go to pace most days. The non-uphill parts were near that but the uphill parts were fast. Crazy that they would be fast but they were.
I thought about why.
Earlier yesterday morning, I had read the blog of a fellow runner I respect. She ran Boston this year. She had a great race. Her splits looked a lot like mine from last year although she had not lost it so much at the end. I thought that I was done with Boston. No more worries about buddies. No more worries about running it ever again. But I was wrong. As I read her blog I thought about my race from a year ago. I went back and looked at my splits. Heartbreak hill wasn't even the slowest mile for me. No, I sped up significantly in mile 22, then got slower and slower for 23-26. The last two were over 8 min/mile. I was annoyed that a year earlier I had not found a way to regain my legs after heartbreak hill.
So I pushed my hill workout harder than I was supposed to.
Is it a fatal flaw? Probably not.
But it does show how fallible I am in terms of going against the plan. It does show my vulnerability to the "mind games" of running. It does show how much I can make big mistakes if I am not careful. If I fail to move past stupid things. If I fail to let bygones be bygones and focus on the hear and now which is all I can control anyway.
P.S. My run this morning almost killed a cat. The cat got scared as I approached and it ran into the street. It just made it across before a car which didn't even slow down raced past. I would have been mortified if that cat who crossed Woodbourne as I ran east just west of The Alameda had died.
