Conquering The Beast

Good morning.

I had a tough long slow 20 miler yesterday. As I went along my legs felt heavy and I was like, "what the heck is going on?" But, I just kept on slogging along at the snails pace, absorbing each stride. I thought about how the marathon can be hard as well and that this was a physical and mental test. There was no way I was giving in. I won.

I was reminded later in the day by some V Teamers that long slow distance runs can be hard because you are using your slow twitch muscle fibers which don't get used much if all you do are faster runs. So, I was gratefully reminded of the importance of the LSD run and how they help you become a better runner. Every now and then we need to be reminded how important all our various training runs are. Thanks V Teamers.

My run stats: 20 miles, 3:03:36, Pace Avg 9:10, Avg HR 119

Split Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Speed Max Speed Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:50 1 95 85 9:50 7:34 108 122 0 73
2 0:09:14 1 164 230 9:14 6:04 112 119 0 75
3 0:09:06 1 148 171 9:06 7:03 111 119 0 67
4 0:09:12 1 240 161 9:12 6:31 117 119 0 75
5 0:08:57 1 39 98 8:57 6:57 118 120 0 74
6 0:08:52 1 30 33 8:52 7:57 121 125 0 74
7 0:08:59 1 26 43 8:59 8:38 119 127 0 69
8 0:08:56 1 16 13 8:56 8:15 122 126 0 73
9 0:09:03 1 26 7 9:03 8:15 122 127 0 70
10 0:08:55 1 33 39 8:55 7:39 121 123 0 64
11 0:09:12 1 56 33 9:12 7:49 119 128 0 59
12 0:08:56 1 39 59 8:56 7:58 121 125 0 64
13 0:08:53 1 187 66 8:53 8:04 123 125 0 65
14 0:09:05 1 3 115 9:05 8:38 123 126 0 65
15 0:09:09 1 16 23 9:09 7:43 124 128 0 64
16 0:09:25 1 75 98 9:25 5:56 122 124 0 58
17 0:09:27 1 180 141 9:27 5:51 120 125 0 50
18 0:09:27 1 16 30 9:27 8:21 122 126 0 56
19 0:09:24 1 13 16 9:24 8:42 122 130 0 59
20 0:09:24 1 30 36 9:25 8:44 126 130 0 69
Summary 3:03:36 20 1,430 1,493 9:10 5:51 119 130 0 1,323


Born To Run:

"Lisa Smith Batchen, the amazingly sunny and pixie-tailed ultrarunner from Idaho who trained through blizzards to win a six day race in the Sahara, talks about exhaustion as if it's a playful pet. "I love the beast," she says. "I actually look forward to the beast showing up, because every time he does, I handle him better. I get him more under control." Once the beast arrives, Lisa knows what she has to deal with and can get down to work. And isn't that the reason she's running through the desert in the first place--to put her training to work? To have a friendly little tussle with the beast and show it who's boss?

You can't hate the beast and expect to beat it; the only way to truely conquer something, as every great philosopher and geneticist will tell you, is to love it."

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Yesterday's run will help me conquer the beast.


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" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin