Running Philosophies

So, with life not going so well at the moment, I had 2 bursts of sunshine this past weekend and both bursts involved running.  My Saturday 16-miler went well.  Ok, it didn’t, but it was a perfect training run.  I had “lead legs” by mile 6 and the first 8 miles seemed like they just plugged along.  I’m not sure what happened after mile 8, but I must have blacked out because they went quickly and Miles 14-16 weren’t awful.  (my last 2 when increasing mileage are always my hardest…bc I haven’t run that far yet! Duh!) It was a great training session to mentally and physically prepare me for how I may or may not feel during the marathon.  See? Even bad runs are great 🙂  It was a wonderful 2hrs and 45 minutes to myself – much needed.

The other fantastic running ray of sunshine came when I got an email from Run the Edge Blog offering a FREE Kindle version of Running the Edge.  A free book about running, you say? Sign me up!  I should have known I’d be hooked when one of the reviews said this book was full of not only great quotes, but great paragraphs FULL of quotes.  They weren’t lying.  I was only a few minutes into reading the book when Tim Catalano said everything every runner believes:

“Running allowed me to control the storm. It gave me a release for the anger and frustration living inside me. When I ran, I was able to let loose of the fury until I was so exhausted I could feel calm. In the hours following a run, I could see the real me. I could see my potential to be a good person. I could relax and smile and look forward to creating a better life…I was free.”

The “feeling so exhausted I could feel calm” is amazingly true.  At some point, my body and mind are so in sync that I don’t feel anything.  Hence, the last 8 miles of my 16-miler that I can’t recall.  Free therapy and a calorie-burner?  Winning! The way I feel after a run? Calm & who I know I have the potential to be.  The petty things that bothered me hours before seem just that: petty. It’s great motivation to know that I CAN get to that “level of person” I strive for. Even if it’s just for a few hours.

Another quote, by Adam Goucher: “I am thankful that I discovered a sport that freed me from needing approval from others.”

Amen, brother!  Not just the approval from others in running or sports, but in life.  Got a problem with me or the way I live my life? Cool, I’m still going to plan my life around running.  Seems like a logical response to me 🙂

Brace yourselves: I still have 90% of the book to read.  This blog will be FULL of quotes from these guys.  We must be soul mates 😉

Since my life obviously only revolves around running and food, I have 2 cupcake reviews to share with you.  Stay tuned!

First World Problems

I took my car in for an oil change today (recommended maintenance was in April, but life happens and September was the next best option). My car is getting to that age where I really shouldn’t miss maintenance appointments, plus nothing major has “stopped working properly” with her (yes, her name is Lucy) yet so I hold my breath and like to keep my fingers crossed.  Since the last few days have been intense and stressful, and the last few weeks have been nonstop, and the last 8 months have been less than ideal, I thought I’d treat myself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks.  The timing was perfect – my first day off in months, I was feeling a little selfish, plus the weather has been screaming “Fall” since Saturday.

Then my first world problem slapped me in the face.  Nearly $650 in maintenance costs for my car (definitely finding a cheaper garage to take care of the easier stuff).  I opted to take care of the top 2 safety concerns/issues to fix now to prevent an even bigger bill later.  A $230 bill meant no Starbucks for moi.  Sad day.  So for now, I’ll just be adding pumpkin spice to my Coffeemate routine every morning until I get my fix 🙂

In other news, life is good in my happy little world of running.  Last Saturday, after being up for 24 hours, driving up to Chicago & back on Friday (5 hours each way), getting only 2 hours of craptastic sleep, and living in immediate nurse-mode after my sweetie’s rotator cuff surgery, I knocked out a 14-miler at a 10 min/mile pace.  It was something we all needed.  I was able to re-charge my batteries and have a few hours to myself and Jeff was able to finally get some sleep and let his pain meds kick in.  It was glorious.  See?  Running cures all.  Even for the people around you 🙂  This sums up last week’s long run: