I've mentioned before how your mind talks to you, lies to you, tries to convince you that you can't run when you know darn well that you can. It's an interesting progression of coercion, acceptance and encouragement the mind goes through as you get further into a run.
First you're so happy to be running that you don't even hear that little voice in the back of your head for a while. Then, at about a half mile out you start to get a bit winded and tired. This isn't unusual as you're not into a true cardiovascular workout yet and you start to breathe harder as your heart rate increases. This is the point when you start to hear the complaints; you shouldn't be out in this weather, maybe you should turn around at a mile and do a short run, are you sure you wanted to run today and is there really enough time to get in a full run?
You have to ignore these self-doubting thoughts and keep on. This lasts until somewhere between mile two and three, and then things change. Suddenly just before two-and-a-half miles you realize you're going to run five miles. You have to do so, because even if you turn around right now, you won't get home until you hit that five mile mark. And you start to feel like you've already run five miles, even though you're not quite half-way there yet.
Then you start to think big. If I run to the top of half-mile hill, I'll be at a little over three miles and that puts me at over six miles when I get home. But wait, if I keep going and don't turn around, but instead do the full loop, I'll make eight miles. Hey, I can do that.
This kind of thinking is typical at close to three miles into the run. You haven't made three miles yet, but you feel like you're getting close to eight miles already. It's at this point that you're into a true cardiovascular workout and you feel great and believe you can just keep going.
As you get further into the run, approaching six or maybe seven miles you start to consider if eight miles is really enough. But you're starting to get tired. Well, I was starting to get tired last run, because I hadn't been running in over two weeks and I've been out of practice due to my winter cold calamity.
But no, that's just the muscles reminding me they're being worked and I know they can keep going. Hey, wouldn't it be great to run ten miles? That sounds so enticing at this point and I do believe I can do it. I even have thoughts of running a half-marathon distance (13.1 miles) but I do a "to go" calculation and at seven miles that's still six point one miles more which means I'm only a bit over half-way and no, I don't think I'd better jump into a half-marathon after just recovering from being sick. But ten miles, yeah, I totally can do that.
I run past the entrance from which I entered the park and keep going up a long, slow, incline and I feel so great. I turn around at a point that will put me home at approximately ten miles and I still feel great, but I also feel tired. It's a happy tired.
There's nothing like overcoming your own mind's attempt to talk you out of doing something good just because it's hard.
The Big Boy Update: We're taking him into the doctor this morning to look at what may be an abscess on his shoulder. From talking to the doctor on the phone, she is most likely going to give him some oral antibiotics and possibly an injection. It's been draining so we're hoping it will clear up quickly.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Hair of mess. Her hair has gotten to that length where it looks messy most of the time. But as she's a girl, we want to see it grow longer so we're going to have to forge through this messy period until it's long enough to put into bows or pigtails. Her hair grows quite slowly, like mine, so it may be some time before it gets "cute little girl long".
Someone Once Said: What is ‘random’? Is it correct that ‘random’ is shorthand for ‘I don’t know’? Random is used in a number of ways but it usually means a set in which the members are equal in probability of experiencing some event, such as being next to be chosen. ‘Random’ is what you have when you maximize entropy.
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