paulradcliffe.me

Patience

I find it incredibly ironic that patience can be so valuable in a sport predicated on speed.

The big change I made this season was to follow the recommended training zones. Usually I struggle to follow the rest of the group, even if that means running way too fast. Leading the clinic gave me the opportunity to run well below my aerobic threshold while still running with people. Even when they sped up, I fell back so that I wouldn’t sacrifice my workout. For hard runs, I made sure I went really slow to warm up before hitting the ‘meat’ of the workout like the hills or sprints. I attribute my great success at the Chilly Half-Marathon to this dicipline of patient running.

I don’t have much time to rest on my laurels. The Virgin London Marathon is in 45 days! Heck, the Around The Bay 30k is in 17 days!! I haven’t done more than 21k since Disney at the beginning of January!!

There’s a nice little article on AskMen.com by former Biggest Loser trainer Brett Horbel about losing weight, and by corollary, exercise in general. In the article he says:

If you don’t have an emotional connection to why you are trying to accomplish your goals, the odds are you won’t reach them or will quit trying.

I guess my emotion is that I’m afraid of disappointing myself and others. I don’t think fear is inherently evil or dangerous. It can be the impetus that sparks willpower and hope. If nothing else, it will get me out the door in the tough weeks to come.

Emotional spectrum in the DC comics universe: Fear, Will and Hope. My mindset for the next 5 weeks.

Realistically, I have five weeks of actual training left in the season. In that time, I’ll need to hit 30k at least 3 times, get some speed work in, and hopefully lose about 10 pounds, all while remaining healthy and injury-free, AND lead my new half-marathon clinic.

It’s okay. the training plan has been working. I’m deep enough into the season that I can push hard and forge myself into the machine I want to be.

I just have to be patient.