Push through the pain

Do you ever want to give up? Is your body telling you you're done?

There is a difference between being tired and being injured.

Nick and I decided to tackle Lake Chabot this morning after work, we ran between 6.2 and 6.5 miles in rough terrain. It seemed like the hills just wouldn't stop. I was to say the least...exhausted and felt like I couldn't keep up. Nick did great and was doing his best to keep me motivated. During the entire run I felt tired and heavy.

My body was telling me, "you're injured, stop, you are too tired." I knew that I had to keep going and my brain was saying "suck it up."

It was a constant struggle going back and forth but after all is said and done, you must put one foot in front of the other and keep going until you are finished. I may have been tired but definitely not injured. It was like my body was trying to trick my brain.

What's the lesson here, just because you are hurting, doesn't mean you are injured.

Running an event or race requires a certain mental toughness, the more you have, the more you can push yourself to go the distance.

Olympic Style

I have been on a writing hiatus the last 2 weeks. Lacking the energy to write but still have been getting out there to run.
We ran Lake Chabot 2 weeks ago and are now running faster, longer and farther down the trail. Even after working all night, I love getting out on the trail and getting a good sweat on. We are running almost seven miles in tough terrain. Its easy to say the summer is off to a great start.
Last week we were down to two people, Daniel and I were the only ones who made it out for the group run. We decided to take on the Beast, the Green Monster, the King Kong of Fremont...Mission Peak.
With my excitement and amature attitude, I thought we might have a chance of running up the whole thing. We barley got 1/4th up the mountain, gasping and wheezing with no air in our lungs. We made a strong effort and hiked/ran up the mountain the best we could with no stopping or breaks. Getting to the top, we took in the view and ran full speed the whole way down, literally taking us only 12-15 minutes to decend. This was the biggest endorphin rush I have ever had. With my ipod playing and running as fast as I could, it felt amazing.
When you come to something that is bigger than you, puts you in your place and humbles you... take on that challenge and set a goal.
And set a goal we did.
On September 11th, we will again be running Mission peak, fastest time to the 3rd bench wins. Loser drives and buys drinks at the Englander that same night, not to mention a victory run down the hill Olympic style for the winner. We'll see you on the 11th.

We are on our way!

Lets Go!!

With each run you must be strong, have courage to push through pain and know that you WILL get through it. You may be tired, sick, can't breath, sore and in excruciating pain; but, each workout is one step closer to your goal and success of crossing the finish line.

This week was challenging, many of us are running more, going to the gym and getting up early to make sure we squeeze in that extra workout in order to meet our goals. That snooze button sure looks good at 5am in the morning but you still get up anyway, this is where we are now picking up our routines, making sure we do what we need in order to get where we need to go.

Progress is what you make each time you go out, even if you feel like you had a bad workout, be proud of yourself for trying. We all have off days or even off weeks where our workouts don't go as well as we would like. Try to stay positive and set a new goal if you have a bad workout. For example you can say "on my next run I will try to go 0.2 miles father, run 1 minute faster or go 10 minutes without stopping." Staying optomistic will get you inspired for your next workout instead of bringing your motivation to a hault.

We ran as a group at Coyote Hills on Saturday and everyone had a great workout. I was very impressed with all the hard work everyone is putting in. It was so hot running on the assfault and the sun was beaming down hard. Nick, Dan and I were keeping a faster pace than normal since the terrain at Coyote Hills has less incline on the perimeter than Lake Chabot.

The ladies ran great as well. Marisa, who only started last week, ran 6 miles in just over an hour, lets just say here legs were a little sore.

Kim joined us also, running over 5 miles!! We are all on our way to running the half marathon in November and hopefully a full marathon sometime next year. If we all keep up this pace, it IS an attainable goal.

If you want to talk motivation, lets talk about Nick "Running Wolf" who is always leading the pack and setting a faster pace. It is very difficult keeping up with him but somehow I was able to muster up enough oxygen to my muscles to stay within a 30 yard radious behind him. However, just when I think I can catch up, he runs faster. I strive to get on his level.

Start running 4 days a week and your endurance will increase a great deal. Great week everyone, lets keep running, lifting and training.

A question to think about: What is on your exercise bucket list? Is it marathons, triathalons, swimming, hiking or biking... and is it something specific? New York or Boston Marathon, Hike Half Dome, Swim from Alcatraz, SF to LA Bike tour, Iron Man Triathalon...

Post your comment of what it is; then, see how you can make it happen!