Workout 9/28

Taper, taper, taper...what a relief not to feel like I have to push myself. Oh, but tapering is so boring. I tried to do a slower run this morning, and it was as if my legs didn't know what to do. Forcing your legs to go a minute or two slower than what they're used to is hard. But with less than 9 days to go until the marathon, I shan't put too much stress on them (yes, I know I said shan't). So, I disassociated majorly this morning a.k.a. listened to rockin' music. A buddy of mine, David, gave me a bunch of hip-hop and rap that has kept my ears busy. Please check out the link below to hear one of the most inspiring songs as I try to find "purpose in every step" I take. This song is my marathon song; I plan to have it in my head when I need to disassociate over the long haul of the Chicago Marathon. Check it out, even if you don't want to watch the video, listen to the words of the song.

Lacrae--Run

Run: 4 Miles (38.28, 9.37/mile pace)

Workout 9/17

I disassociated this morning. Sounds fun, doesn't it? I was reading the most recent issue of Runner's World, and there is an article in there about how runners "associate" and "disassociate" with their running in order to cope with the stresses and performance of the task. Basically, associating is the task of focusing on one's body and the environment in order to increase or decrease effort in order to meet a goal and/or maintain healthy functioning. Disassociating is the act of taking one's mind off the task of running in order to enjoy the moment and not focus on the stresses the body is creating while running. So this morning I through on my headphones in order to disassociate with the task of running on the treadmill. Yes, it is still marathon training season, but I jumped on a treadmill this morning in order to make running possible in my tight schedule. Better to treadmill run than not run at all. Good thing I had tunes in my ears or else I would not have completed the 5 miles out of sheer boredom. If running is becoming boring for you, take some time to disassociate!

Run: 5 miles (42.30, 8.30/mile pace)

Workout 8/6

I finally remembered what it was like to run in Florida, but the funny thing is, I'm here in Chicago. Many of us around the country are learning how to maintain our training schedules in the heat and the humidity. It means making sacrifices that we may not be fond of...running indoors, waking up early, running late in the evening, etc. But hey, we are mentally training too. These diverse conditions force us to pull up our shorts, throw on our shoes, and step out the door while MENTALLY fixing ourselves to face the uncomfortable obstacles. For most of us, marathons are not easy. For many of us, CrossFit is not simple. But it's not always about our physical abilities either. At mile 20, our minds keep us going when our legs can't do it on their own anymore. When doing CrossFit Total, our minds help us push through an extra 20 pounds on our back squat. Don't forget about the mental aspect of sport and begin training for it. 4:30 AM, 90% Humidity, 80 degrees, near total darkness, running alone...PERFECT TIME TO TRAIN YOUR BRAIN!

Run: 4.08 miles (36.22; 8.54/mile pace)

CrossFit: "Modified Jason"
50 Squats
9 Pull-ups
9 Dips
25 Squats
18 Pull-ups
18 Dips
15 Squats
27 Pull-ups
27 Dips
10 Squats
36 Pull-ups
36 Dips

*Why so many Pull-ups and Dips, you ask? Since I can't do a Muscle-up, the modification is to do 3 Pull-ups and 3 Dips for 1 Muscle-up. I wanted to give up! But it was mental training day...so there you go! No, I can't do them without help, so I did do assisted pull-ups with the "GloboGym" machine...I'm not that impressive...YET!