Rick Astley.

You know the rules and so do I
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy

I know, if you were around in the late 80's you are probably saying to yourself "Rick Astley, seriously?  What the heck?"  If you were not around then you are probably saying "who the heck is Rick Astley?"  Either way you're also probably saying "what does he have to do with a post on a running blog?"  Well...

Today was the end of week 5 training and the cold snap in New England this week wasn't all that conducive for running outdoors.  I ended up putting on my big boy pants though and ran every scheduled day outdoors except for Thursday when the wind chill was -24.  I figured that I really wasn't in the mood for frostbite.  I like my fingers and piggy toes just the way they are!  Thursday turned into a gym day instead.  Yes, the "treadmill".  OK, I can completely say that I absolutely, 100% cannot stand the treadmill.  Well, 100% cannot run the treadmill.  Get it?  "Stand"...  "Run"...  I know, that was a bad one!  Anyway, it was excruciating.  I ended up stopping at 3.8 miles and did cardio for rest of the session.  That was the first time back on the treadmill doing actual running since last winter's training (I have done fast paced walking at an incline of 15 recently for some added cardio but that is it).  I felt like a hamster running around the living room floor in one of those clear plastic balls.  Everyone who has had a hamster knows what I'm talking about.  Everyone else is like, "what the frick is he talking about?".  Running on a treadmill is the absolute most boring thing imaginable.  OK, maybe it is not the most, but it is pretty darn close.  For me, it's like fingers down a chalk board.  It's like oil and water.  Snowmen and blow torches.  I think that you get the point.

You are probably asking, "what about Rick"?  Oh right!  I found myself not very motivated yesterday morning.  Woke up at 6:00 AM and was on the road at 7:00 AM.  It was 11 degrees out.  Very crisp.  Another freezing cold run was ahead of me.  I needed a quick pick me up as I was driving north on 95/128.  The sun just coming up in my review mirror.  What could give me that push that I needed?  A song.  Yes, that would do it.  I turned on the radio and (you have to say the following in a stereo typical DJ voice) "easy listening 99.1 on your FM dial...  Here's Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley".  Oh boy.  Seriously?  I hadn't heard that song since I was a DJ at a roller skating rink back in the early 90's.  It was a kid favorite during the Saturday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM all skate.  It wasn't my cup of tea, but it was a good song to synchronize the star burst lights on the ceiling to.  I was wicked crazy when I turned the disco balls on at the same time.  Sure fire way to mess up the kids skating every time!   What it did do for me yesterday was bring back some old memories.  It got my toes tapping a little, made me chuckle and gave me that extra push that I needed for the cold run.  I knew that I could rely on my running list to do the rest once I got out on the run (there is absolutely no Rick Astley on it at all).  I just realized something.  Why the heck was I listening to "Easy Listening" in the car?  It's not like it is a doctor's office or elevator.  It must have been the last person driving the car that tuned that station in.  That has to be it.  Oh, wait.  I was the last one to drive the car before yesterday.  Busted.

I completed the week with 34 frigid miles, a good chuckle and a true appreciation for the great outdoors.

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

Mental.

I was talking with a colleague the other day at the water cooler, sorry, "water bubbler".  She asked me how my training was going.  I responded with "really good, cold, but really good".  I suggested, "hey, you should give it a try". She quickly replied "I couldn't do that".  I replied with "oh sure you could, come on".  It is what she said next that really made me stop and think. "It is all mental beyond the actual physical running.  I couldn't do the mental piece of it".  You know what?  She was absolutely right. It is very much mental. I never really stopped and thought about it like that until now. 

For me, running is an outlet that helps me clear my head and unwind from the pressure and stress in any given day.  Running is a solitude sport for me. My training, just me. Pushing myself to get going at 4:30 in the morning for runs, just me. Running races and continually striving for better, you guessed it.  Me, myself & I (love that song from De La Soul).

I have to push myself through all of the mental challenges that come with running. I learned that the hard way during my first marathon last fall.  I thought that I was ready for anything. That I could conquer this dastardly villain. Standing proud, arms crossed and chest held high. My Superman cape flapping in the breeze behind me (yes, there are tights involved too but of the running variety). I had physically trained as much as I could.  It was around mile 18 when the mental piece kicked in.  The dreaded wall. The part of training that I hadn't focused on.  The part that I had not fully experienced before and that I was absolutely not prepared for.  I focused too much on just getting the miles in and not enough on keeping my head in the game the entire time.  Hitting the wall that day was probably the best thing for me as I learned a lot of valuable lessons and have been able to become a much better runner from it.

"Proud, I'm proud of what I am.  That's me myself and I.  It's just me myself and I" (You've got to love those 80's songs).

Until next time, keep on runnin'!