Vermont Running

It has been pretty tough running in Vermont lately.  There is literally no flat ground to run on and the nearest track is 40 minutes away if I want to get in a speed session.  I am all in favor of conquering hills, but this is not one of those moments where I am just being lazy.  The elevation changes well over 1000 feet to get in any middle-distanced run.  It always ends up being (mostly) uphill on the way back too.  Right now, I am sort of in between with my running goals.  I still want to work on speed and get my 5k/10k times down this summer.  I also want to build a steady base now for marathon training later in the summer leading into a fall race.  Speed is important to work on now so that I run a faster marathon in the fall.  The problem that I am faced with now is fatigue.  Lately, my legs have been feeling tired and heavy.  I pushed myself through a couple of tough workouts and have kept up with double-runs every other day.  My mileage on these hills is in the 80s (avg. per week) and I want to keep adding on.  I, however, do not want to burn out or get injured any time soon.  That would be bad.  This all seems pretty negative and that is one thing I want to touch on: attitude.  If you approach something, anything, with a feeling that it is going to be difficult, it will be.  You have to have the right mindset going into a particularly demanding training block.  Many people reading this may be training for different events then I am.  It is all still the same concept.  You need to have a positive outlook on the situation and remind yourself why you are chasing your goal.  It is important that I tell myself that training on these hills will be worth it.  When I get back to sea level (not much but up at 2000 feet of altitude in the mountains) and flat ground I will see big gains.  My goal is to run a fast marathon time in the fall.  This is something I have said quite often.  I believe that I can run well under a sub-2:45 marathon in the fall.  It does not bother me if someone tells me this is a lofty goal, or worse that I cannot achieve it.  This is what keeps me out there every day.  I have something to prove, but not to others, to myself.  I made a deal that I would run a fast marathon in the fall.  Why?  I did this because I want to achieve this goal.  Running is something I enjoy and something I can learn from every day.  It is all about the attitude.  I have a determination that makes people question why I am doing what I am doing.  This is when you know you are doing something right.  Find something you like.  Then, give 100% of yourself to it and let it take over.  You will be amazed at what you can learn about yourself that you did not know before.  You will experience how far you can push yourself.  You will achieve your goals.  My advice is simple: dream and then turn it into a reality.  Use motivation to help shape your attitude and ultimately find what you are looking for.

I have to believe that running in the mountains is giving me strength for when I road race.  I ran the Hollis Fast 5k last week and ran a new PR!  This is a great local event in New Hampshire.  It draws a big crowd for a 5k (over 1000) and is well organized.  The course is a net downhill and is advertised as one of the fastest in the U.S.  And it did not disappoint!  I ran 17:28 (5:37/mile) and took home 1st place in my age group (21st overall in a fast field of over 1000 runners)!  I see racing as a reward, not a burden.  All of my hardwork has been translating into quality race results of late.  There is a certain satisfaction you have when you toe a start line with confidence from all the miles you have been putting in.  Last year I ran this race and finished in 20:02.  Over two and a half minutes off my 5k in a year!  I'll take it.  It is nice to see some im  I also got a pretty cool apple-shaped trophy.  I saw it last year and thought it would be pretty cool to take it home the next year.  My next race is going to be a 10k in a couple of weeks.  That should be a good test of fitness.  Summer racing and training can be tough so make sure if you are out running, you are being careful.  Hydrate regularly, wear hats. use sunscreen (thanks mom), etc.  Do not worry about a run where you cannot perform your best because of the heat.  Long-term health is much more important then pushing yourself too far in the heat.  Train safe and see ya'll next time.

Run Happy,
David