This is a marathon, not a sprint!

Hello Hello!

First of all, I'd like to thank David Saucedo for his donation to LLS. Every day, this organization gives me another reason to be proud to be a part of the cause and I'm so touched every time someone reaches out to support our common goal, to fight blood cancer!

So, yesterday was our first day of real interval/speed training and I must say that I have never felt so unprepared. Although I have been running distance for a long time, I have never pushed myself very hard for speed. Well it seems that is about to change.

Yesterday, they split us into pace groups based on our speeds at last week's workout. I was put into the fastest of the three waves of runners and I am officially one of the slowest ones in the group. I guess it is okay to be the slowest of the fastest, but it makes for an entirely new psychological battle for me. It has been a long time since I have really worked on speed, so I think that rather than asking to be moved down a speed level, I am going to use this opportunity to rise to the occasion and pick up my speed a little.

Although I will not be running my marathon at this pace, I believe that the strength of mind that I gain from not giving up even when every muscle in my body is pleading for me to stop will be the most valuable asset I can have on race day.

We also had a nutrition clinic before the workout and I learned that its time to be a little more concious about what I eat so that I can improve my performance. I am beginning to keep a food log to track what I'm eating so that I can avoid the "calorie amnesia" that seems so common these days. I guess its time to hit the farmers market and stock up on healthy foods and maybe, just maybe learn to cook a few more meals.

Despite a little soreness, I feel very good today and I can't wait to hit the trail after work!

Happy trails!

Dodge