I dictated this post to Siri because I feel we as runners need a little pick me up about now. I touched on it during the winter. See here. But again, I see the vibe on social media. I hear what everyone is saying. I'm here to tell you that you are doing GREAT! Great, despite:
*wretchedly high temps
* high humidity
*dehydration
*sun burns
*feeling sick all day post long run
*swollen feet
*tearful long runs
*feelings of failure
I live in North Carolina. It's sick and nasty for a good 3 months out of the year. We are almost to the end. Fall is near! But I see some of you, and sometimes me, who want to throw in the towel, quit this shit, get your life back, become a cyclist, play softball. DON'T DO IT!
I do not have the attention span to write or read a long drawn out, paragraph laden post so let's go bullet style on this one.
You are a ROCKSTAR if you are running with any type of remote consistency during the summer months in the South or similar climate.
When you head out the door every morning remember these things:
*humidity is our altitude. Don't make me google statistics, please. Take it for face value and trust me. If you can survive running is high humidity you are working just as hard as those high in the sky. So like, we've all read before: humidity is the poor man's altitude. Embace the suck.
*Speed. I'm just going to throw out a statistic on my recent study involving N=1. You will suck on your garmin but you really don't suck. I would say a 6:35 pace tempo run will feel like a 6:15 pace. I'm pretty good at judging effort and this seems about right. Even if I'm off a little it's good for your ego. Running is mostly mental, right?! You are a Supa-star darling!
*Keep your mind strong. You did not shit on your spring fitness. You're not a has been. You're not an old man/lady. Your fitness is actually stronger. It's just hiding. As soon as the first cool week comes through we'll all be giselles bouncing through the greenway sans water bottle.
*The hardest part of all of this is not the embarrassing pubic sweat on a group run, but rather it is keeping your MIND strong. It's easy to fade into the land of "I suck" and throw in the towel. But hopefully if you're still running with me you know it's too late now. You've sacrificed too much. The end is near. We are like Submarine the shark (shark week reference) that can smell the chum in the water 5 miles away. Don't get blinded by the light! Keep going forward and get to your race and kick some fucking ass!!! And then tell me all about it.
Stay strong Honey Badgers!! We have got this!! You have my love and support.
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| This will turn into… |
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| THIS, soon! |
Laura XO
It's still winter here and I was up at 5 in the dark running a hill session in the wind and rain, oh what I would do for a bit of heat!!!
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