Excitement - still have it?
I had the pleasure of volunteering at a 5k/10k race over the weekend. I worked the finish line, so I got to check out all the faces of the finishers. As I watched them cross the finish line, it struck me how excited newer runners are about racing. For me, those are the ones I enjoy watching the most. I have only been running a couple years and have only done around a dozen races, but somewhere along the way I lost that excitement I see on newer runners faces. I do get excited about most races, but I'm also too goal oriented and don't think so much about enjoying the experience.
A couple weeks ago, I had my worst race experience and it made me think "why do I do this when I enjoy all my training runs?" I have a wonderful group of runners that I enjoy training with and even when I'm having a bad day, I enjoy myself. I do like the challenge of races, so I will continue doing them, but I need to find that excitement I see on the newer runners faces. It is somewhere in me still. Rather than focusing on goal time and my watch, I need to relax and enjoy the experience. My goal, for the rest of my summer races, is to enjoy the races and not worry about my time. Easier said than done, since I am one of those driven individuals. I am going to try hard and let my friends help. Rather than pushing ahead at the start of the races, I will enjoy a more relaxed pace with them and then pick it up. It sounds like a good plan to me.
As far as my workouts go, I am ramping up training for the Ascent. As a result, my mileage is going to be hovering around 40 miles, which is more than I normally like to do.
Round trip to Barr Camp is 14.5 miles, so I don't have much choice when it comes to mileage. I am trying to figure out how to best stay connected with my ladies too, so we'll be figuring that out over the next couple weeks. I will need to use some of my weekend time on the mountain. Right now, I think I'll alternate Fri and Sun on the mountain. We'll see how that works though. Most likely, I'll be playing it by ear.
And this blog... It was supposed to be for one year, which has already passed. I'm not sure how much longer I will keep doing this. Shoot me a mail if you have an opinion. I know some of you enjoy reading my exercise exploits still.
A couple weeks ago, I had my worst race experience and it made me think "why do I do this when I enjoy all my training runs?" I have a wonderful group of runners that I enjoy training with and even when I'm having a bad day, I enjoy myself. I do like the challenge of races, so I will continue doing them, but I need to find that excitement I see on the newer runners faces. It is somewhere in me still. Rather than focusing on goal time and my watch, I need to relax and enjoy the experience. My goal, for the rest of my summer races, is to enjoy the races and not worry about my time. Easier said than done, since I am one of those driven individuals. I am going to try hard and let my friends help. Rather than pushing ahead at the start of the races, I will enjoy a more relaxed pace with them and then pick it up. It sounds like a good plan to me.
As far as my workouts go, I am ramping up training for the Ascent. As a result, my mileage is going to be hovering around 40 miles, which is more than I normally like to do.
Round trip to Barr Camp is 14.5 miles, so I don't have much choice when it comes to mileage. I am trying to figure out how to best stay connected with my ladies too, so we'll be figuring that out over the next couple weeks. I will need to use some of my weekend time on the mountain. Right now, I think I'll alternate Fri and Sun on the mountain. We'll see how that works though. Most likely, I'll be playing it by ear.
And this blog... It was supposed to be for one year, which has already passed. I'm not sure how much longer I will keep doing this. Shoot me a mail if you have an opinion. I know some of you enjoy reading my exercise exploits still.
posted by Scheri @ 12:54 PM
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