My dad has always been involved in my running since my first days of high school practice. I asked him early in my career the following question: Should I look back in a race? He needed no time to respond when he said, "No, there is a never a a need to look back in competition. The race to win is in front of you." So, that's one area of racing that I always remembered despite seeing kids, elite athletes, and olympians doing it on a regular basis.
In racing, I've followed his advice, but in moving on from past disappointments in running - I haven't grasped that concept as well. Whether it's not making the top 7 in college or getting the chance to run cross country in my senior year following a stress fracture in my femur just weeks into the season. Now, I'm thankful for these moments and cherished my time in Tallahassee. I've learned from each of them. My second college coach, Bob Braman, always reminded me to train and not strain. Now, several years after college it's sinking in.
So, the point of this rambling post is that I'm loving every run and not taking it too seriously. This is such a fun sport, but so many runners burn out because it becomes a chore. I met up with GRC teammate Peter Silverman for a nice 7 miler in Rock Creek Park. I ran some trails I've never experienced before and found out that Beach Drive is actually open during the week. We caught up on life and just took in an epic day for running. It was nice and cool beneath the shaded trails. Just amazing.
Now, that it's July I'm planning on keeping the mileage in the 70s throughout this month, August, September, and October with two quality workouts( one track and one tempo) and a long run. For someone who used to be obsessed with mileage in college- this is an adjustment.
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