Bring the Pain

Daily quote from Runner’s World:
"Learn to run when feeling the pain; then push harder." William Sigei, Kenyan runner.

That’s perfect for today. I didn’t get my run in yesterday because I had to get to the office a bit earlier than normal. So I upped the intensity today. In general, I think more intensity is going to be the guidance for my training for the MCM.

To get into running, I had to learn to take it easy. I simply focused on increasing mileage. Nearly every run was an “easy” run. The ones that weren’t, were usually long (at an easy pace or slower).

Now it’s time to bring the pain, get used to it, live in it. I bet most of what I have to do is convince the parts of my brain that I don’t control that going faster is something I can sustain.

Today I ran normally for the first ¾ mile. Then, I ran a mile at a quicker pace, aiming for 8:00, I came closer to 8:10. I took a quarter mile at a very easy pace, then did it again. I tried to do this three times, but ended up splitting that last mile up into two sections. The hills of the Custis trail definitely took their toll. Over all, just over 7 miles at an average pace of 9:17/mi. I feel good.

What hurts today: nothing. Well, actually my upper body is a bit sore from strength training the other day, but it’s a good sore.