Today I had a revelation. I realized that I am not doing what it takes as an athlete to be where I want to be. I love running, and I definitely want to take it as far as I can. I am not pushing hard enough. I have let myself become to complacent. I will not say I haven't worked hard, because in my opinion I have worked pretty dang hard to get where I am. However, if I want to get further I need to start pressing more. I have let myself be content in the fact that when it starts to hurt I don't quit. However, I often stop pressing. I had a great 10k race last Thursday, and I know it was just a little summer road race, but when it started to hurt really bad I stopped pressing. I definitely did not quit, but I did not accept the pain that was neccessary to achieve the goal that I really wanted (32:59). I just need to take it one step at a time and it starts with my average training paces. I am not running them fast enough. My long run paces usually linger around 7:00 when they need to at least be 6:30-6:45 (If not 6:15's at some point), my tempo runs are usually close the right paces however I take to many breaks. I need to run more consistent mileage without constant stops. I should also drop my tempo runs down to 5:30-5:45 pace instead of 5:50's (depending on the distance). I think if I can intelligently take this one step at a time then I can start to see real improvement again. Maybe I can once again see a big PR that keeps me up at night excited about what I could do next. Maybe I'm not talented enough or whatever to do exactly what I want to do in this sport, but I at least know I can be much better than what I am now. I know it, because I can feel it. I know I can get better. So I would hope that I'm taking a step in the right direction, by pressing a little more each day, maybe being a little more welcoming to pain each day.
Today we traveled back home it felt like the longest drive ever. I took a shuttle and so we had to take a lot of stops along the way. I had lots of time to think (maybe too much time) which explains why I just got a little preachy earlier :) When I got home I hit a decent 8 mile run @ 6:45 pace on the trails behind my house, and finished with some legs and core work. Good week its been, and I look forward to next week where I start doubles with running.
Strength Training: Lower Body, Core
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