running out the rage

I think I've said it before, I run best when I'm angry. Once, last December, I was in IKEA and I got a text message that filled me with rage, and I came home and ran 10 miles. Just like that. There's something about it, being so pissed off, and then just running. Running it out. You can think about whatever you want, you can play out awful scenario after awful scenario, and as you do, the miles just roll by. What happens, usually, is by the end of the run, whatever was making you so upset is also gone.

I remember one time in high school, I'm pretty sure it was my senior year, and my JV field hockey coach had us each write down one goal for the game. Mine was probably something like "stay on your man" or "stick down when you stop the ball", or some other terribly obvious thing that I could never quite do right. And she had us put them in our right shoe, and every time we took a step, we were supposed to think of that goal. And dammit, if that didn't just work well! I think I do a similar thing with running when I'm angry. I focus all of my energy on that one thing, and by the end of the run I just don't need to worry about it anymore.

Lately, I think I've forgotten this. I mean, it sounds silly, to focus on all the bad stuff. But, it's gonna be there anyway, may as well do something constructive with it. This week, the last few weeks, have been particularly bad. Personal things, professional things, things completely out of my control, things completely under my control - and I've just ignored it all. This morning I was supposed to do Wilke Hill with my group, but I didn't. I say I slept through it, and that is the truth. Honestly though, the alarm went off and I woke up. And as I lay there contemplating whether or not I was going to do this (as I do every morning), I must have fallen asleep for an hour. Because at 7:15, I was waking up again. Oops.

But, I ran anyway. Not Wilke. A new route that I've never done before. And I ran away the rage. I ran for everything that's been bothering me, stressing me out, and making me want to yell. And, it totally worked. 8 miles later, and I was feeling great.

I took LD's advice, and I switched up the tunes - a great idea. My iPod must have known exactly what I needed, because we started with some of the angry Eminem and Alanis Morrisette. But the run ended with Dar Williams singing about Better Things. Man, it was just perfect.

Song that rocked my run: Not Afraid by Eminem.
4 star run, rage gone!

leaving the past back there

I had a to do list. I have had lots of them. I'd say 95% of the things on there don't get done. Among them, write about some runs. There were three I wanted to write about, but they are so long ago now it's silly. So, I'm moving on (save for this post).I'll give you the bullet-pointed highlights.

- I did a run with a group of 5 (yes, five) boys. Two of them are training for the NYC marathon, one of them hopes to qualify for Boston with a time of something close to 3 hours. File that under things I do not comprehend. The highlight of that 5 miler was that I dropped behind the boys (because I run/walk), but then caught back up, and then passed them. Granted, they were running slow as molasses, but hell, I'll take it. (I think I gave this 4 stars)

- There was a second just with the two marathon trainers, but, there was nothing impressive there - I stayed with them for my 10 minutes and then never saw them again. (I don't remember enough about this one to guess on stars, maybe 3)

- And then there was the time my lab mate and I ran down to the greenbelt, hoping to find some mud to practice for our Warrior Dash. Sadly, there was no mud, there wasn't even any water. We did have a pretty unique 5 mile run through an empty river bed though. I loved this run, someone new to talk to. We didn't track distance or time. We just ran until we wanted to turn around, and then we did it. In the end, looking at google maps, I think we did a little over 5 miles in a little over an hour. I'll take it. 5 star run for sure.

Suffice it to say, my running has been sporadic and poor as of late. That all is about to change.

5 star system

I've devised a new system for rating my runs, which is less based on speed and distance, and more based on meeting set goals. Following this system, each run will be rated as followed.

I did it: one star
I made all my time intervals: one star
I made my set distance: one star
I made that distance in my set time: one star
It was fun/easy/good: one star

This morning I set out on a 3 mile run, hoping to complete it in 36 minutes (12 min/mile). The time was 7:30am, the temperature was 88 degrees, the humidty was 10000% (ok, less than that as it wasn't actually raining).

This run receives a 3 star rating.

Breakdown.
I did it: one star
I made all my time intervals: one quarter star (i made approx a quarter of them)
I made my set distance: one and one third star (i went 4 miles)
I made that distance in my set time: no star (it was not quite 12min/mi)
It was fun/easy/good: one half star (besides the heat, I think it was enjoyable)