The Mental Game begins

RUN 7 miles 1:03 9:17-ish pace BRR group run

I'm full of energy lately. So full in fact I feel like I could burst at times. Legs bounce, brain buzzes along, mouth rambles. Other times I hit a low of focus and energy that leaves me thinking I need another month or two of rest. I cycle between the two states, but a pattern is emerging. I feel like I could run forever after a training session, even a bad one. Normal for me is an hour on the run or swim drills, my body and mind have come to expect it. Whether it's the adrenaline rush, the obsessive compulsive satisfaction, or the fresh air I can't say. This paragraph will be fun to read next summer when I'm out of energy, hate my bike, and have pool water permanently lodged in my ears.

I've heard that nutrition is the 4th segment of an Ironman. I nominate the mental game to be the fifth. The past month has seen serious changes in perspective. And I'm not talking about a long run going from 12 miles to 20, I mean in attitude and outlook. At first I saw Redman as a fail, a morning of suckage. Then I was reminded (by a IM BB no less) that it was just a bad day. At first I was embarassed, then surprised to see that no one viewed me any differently. At first I thought my Worlds qualification was a lucky break, and well, I still think that. I still feel like I got away with stealing, and that I didn't earn the slot. But I'm realizing that a qualification is a qualification, regardless of how I thought my day went. I need to learn to just accept the congratulations I'm getting, and not override them with excuses and such. Just accept it! It's Team USA dammit!

I signed up for 20K of trails in Castlewood. The plan is to just enjoy it and use it as a long run. I might also do the track club 13.1, again just to enjoy it. While I joke with myself about a 13.1 PR (I still haven't broken 1:57) the reality is that I need a few races in which I don't exact pressure on myself. This is another attitude shift, one I'm starting to learn from BN, that not every race has to be a PR-breaking winner of a race. Since I do so few races I tend to put too much emphasis on each one. Maybe I'll look into a few more 5K/10K type races this winter as a way to keep moving and keep learning.