Gaining Clarity
Life has a way of reminding you exactly what you need to know exactly when you need to know it. Recently my lessons have been in the form of many tests.
I read once that in school, you read the lesson then you take the test, while in life you get the test, that if applied properly, will teach you the lesson.
I guess school is out.
When I first started running, it was for health reasons. My emotional attachment to it grew over time as it slowly uncovered things about myself.
It wasn't as if these were things that I hadn't realized before, but instead was now relearning in a different facet of life. We all need a gentle (or sometimes abrupt) reminder from time to time.
Since my last marathon, I've been forced to evaluate and reevaluate the days, weeks and YEARS leading up to the race. I've accepted everything that occurred as part of the process and have forgiven myself for the mistakes that I made. The next step is learning from the mistakes in order to grow. The three things that I've focused a lot of energy on for the past few months have been:
1. Time spent running/inconsistency
2. Stress
3. Poor planning (pacing/nutrition)
In this article we'll address each, why they occurred as well as what I'm doing to prepare for the Santa Rosa Marathon in August. Before we get to that, I wanted to let you know about an upcoming event that I'd like to invite you to.
Introduction to
Meditation Running
For the past few years I’ve been enjoying my runs in an entirely new way. I’ve found a way to turn my runs into meditations and I’m excited to teach you to do the same. On June 26, 2022, I’ll be hosting my first online workshop sharing the details of this practice.
For more information about the class, click below to reserve your seat today.
Now, let’s get to the training.
Consistency Beats The Highlight Reels
I’ll start with the facts. I’ve run over 900 miles in 2022 so far and we’re in June. The most amount of miles I’ve run in a calendar year was 956 miles and that was in 2017. Every other year was significantly less.
This year, I’ve been putting in some serious work to run more consistently. A wise mentor of mine, Ron Duncan, once told me that running more weekly miles would significantly help my running times. I shrugged it off for years until recently. Since my last BQ attempt in March I’ve been all in and slowly increasing.
April 2022: 168 miles with a little over 2,500 feet of elevation
May 2022: 168 miles with over 12,000 feet of elevation
June 2022: This month has been pretty grueling as I slowly climb up to marathon miles as of today, I’ve run over 160 miles with over 12,000 feet of elevation.
I’ve truly been enjoying this journey. The hills have forced me to slow down and dig deep into my mental strength.
I’ve been running about six days per week. My weekly mileage has broken the 60 mile mark and God-willing, will be climbing through July.
I’ve never run more consistently. My body feels great despite some minor aches and pains. My appetite has increased and so has my need for sleep. The hardest days are the ones where I don’t run, but I know they’re needed. My body always thanks me the next day.
Controlling What I Can
Before my last two marathons, I toed the line with an unusual amount of stress. None of it was running related. Just life stuff that I failed to block out during performance.
None of us can control every aspect of our lives. Tires go flat. Bad weather happens. Family emergencies occur. All we can control is how we respond to it.
Running and writing have always been two of my best stress relievers so the increased miles have certainly helped. A couple other things that I’ve also been doing to cut down on stress levels are discussed below.
Meditation has been a part of my life for quite a few years. I’ve found that it benefits me in quite a few ways including:
slowing me down to be present in the moment
increases my focus on the task at hand
I’ve begun increasing the number of intentional meditations that I do in any given day. Even if it’s just for a few minutes, it’s helpful.
In the upcoming workshop I’ll be leading a meditation as well as discussing ways to incorporate meditation into your running routines to make your running more intentional, relaxed and enjoyable. I hope you join us.
“Down Time”
Thanks to my wife’s suggestion, I booked a flight to go visit my family down south for a month. My son was already scheduled to visit, but I’ll admit that I needed a little breather as well.
On June 14th we landed in Atlanta. It hasn’t all been what most would define as a vacation, but even the change in scenery has done wonders. While here, I’ll be dedicating time to some writing projects that have been in the works as well as continuing to train for my next BQ attempt in August. I’m pretty sure that my workout clothes took up the majority of the luggage.
Atlanta has been a place I wanted to run for years now. Being that Black Men Run is based in Atlanta, I’m excited to connect with some of my brothers. In 2018 I even signed up for a race in Atlanta that I was unable to attend. I’m extremely happy to say that I won’t miss the opportunity this round. While visiting a Run Social Atlanta Expo I met the race directors and was gifted entry into a race!
This Monday I’ll be running the 10k at The Monday Nighter at the Garage race. Being that my focus right now is on the marathon, I won’t be going “all out”…but I’m pretty sure I said that before the Yosemite Half and PR’d so…lets’ just see how it goes.
“The Monday Nighter at the Garage”
Thanks again Tes & Shanta for your generosity, hospitality and kindness.
Planning For Success
While each of these issues is broken down into sections, they’re also very interconnected. I’ve never shared this, but while training for my last marathon I had absolutely no training plan.
I winged it. I ran when I had time to run and slowly increased mileage, but had no set plan to follow. Maybe I was too cocky, too ignorant or too lazy. Maybe some of each, but the results speak for themselves. I know, how could someone who writes training plans for other people neglect to do so for themselves. Shame on me, because failing to create and follow a training plan attributed to my race falling apart in the later miles.
This time around I’m not making the same mistake. I spent the week after my last marathon writing out a training plan starting in early April through the end of August. The plan included the prescribed number of miles each day, workout types, weekly form focus, pace ranges and more. I’ll admit…that I’m still not following it to the letter, but in all honesty, I don’t expect my clients to either. Everyday we have to assess ourselves. Where we are, how we feel and what we can handle. Workouts are written based on science, getting to know your own body and rhythm is the art.
During my trip to the south, I’ll be practicing fueling strategies in warmer weather to better resemble race day. Before last race I had no fueling strategy at all. I’m blessed to say that I rarely have stomach issues in training or in races, but I’ve definitely ran out of gas prior to the finish line too many times.
Panola Mountain State Park
I feel ready to say the least. I’m excited, confident, healthy and mentally prepared.
The meditation runs while running through the forests of Georgia have been amazing. It’s hard to not be in the moment when you’re surrounded by beauty, landmarks and random animals popping out of nowhere (I’m pretty sure a squirrel was trying to give my foot a hug).
I’m thankful for the journey, even the parts that have been difficult and sometimes disappointing, but I’ve learned and grown every step of the way.
Next blog post will be my race recap from this unplanned 10k. I’m looking forward to the experience and sharing it with you. Thank you for your support. Make sure you’re subscribed to be notified of future posts. Remember…once I BQ: THIS GAME AIN’T FREE! Subscribe today.
Keep enjoying your journey.
