Week 2: One for the Road; Two for the Trails

[Mosibyl]

Monday was a landmark for me. It signified the end of Week 2 for me and also a total of six runs. Let that sink it - I have run six times in the span of two weeks! Now, that's a wowzer!

It was not all smooth-sailing as I found myself still throwing tantrums before each run. And in what would constitute as a contradiction, another part of me was excited to show up and go out and practice my purpose. Week 2 taught me more than I expected, see my thoughts (broken down into themes) below:

Expectations: I have been doing this practice where I carry God in my heart all throughout the day. Specifically, I bring to my foremind whatever I read during my quiet time in the mornings. This way, I am more mindful about God and that consciousness makes me relate better with myself and everyone around me. I found myself applying this same process with running. On the day of my runs, I prepare my mind to get ready for the event (see, I run at night). And I find that just the mental preparation has accounted for more than 60% of the variance that would predict my engagement in running (sorry, I'm a data nerd). Preparing my mind was more than half the oomph I needed to actually do the run. My friend helped me capture this finding, as thus: "My mind is ready. The rest is easy."

Leveling Up: So what was the difference between Week 1 and Week 2? It was an extra one minute actually. But that seemed a bit longer. It's amazing how 31 minutes can initially seem like an eternity before you hit the trail but not when you are plopping down on the couch to binge-watch a Korean drama series. So, while W2D1 seemed like a lot initially, I was able to overcome this curve on Day 2. Your girl is growing up, LOL.

Music: Select the right music before you run. Which to me, translated to queueing up six-eight songs before running and a favorite jingle as a reward after running. One time I even decided to live on the edge and let the fates decide by hitting the shuffle button and that was not half bad.

Thunder thighs: After completing W2D1, my thighs felt like thunder ripped through them - in a delightful way. It was electrifying and I loved this feeling.

Another sweet serendipity was being able to build a memory palace around my trail. It felt warm to come back to what I had stored in those spots and relive saved memories.

I was tempted to increase my speed on one of the runs but I reminded myself how foolish this would be as it could set me back. It's not really about speed but building endurance and constancy. I felt some pain in my thighs and feet but my recovery from these was quite rapid. I am considering including stretching after each run. Or what do you guys think?

So that was Week 2, guys.

And believe me when I say that I cannot wait for Week 3; it's going to be quite the charm!

Thanks,

Mo!

[deadandalive Graduate]

Well done! You’re on!

Love how you capture the welcoming of sensation (it’s not exactly pain, but it’s not exactly pleasant in itself, either) in the body. Your bit about the memory map is something I’ve never quite thought of but it’s so true.

I think the five minute walks are enough for the end of each workout but definitely consider stretching on off-run days! (You can on run days too, but the danger is it means running requires that much more time each day, at a time you’re still fitting it into your life instead of the other way around.)

And yes, week three is quite the charmer! You’ll see!

Someone said once that it’s the second day that separates the winners from the quitters. Well done again on a whole second week!

[Mosibyl Graduate in reply to deadandalive]

Thank you very much for the encouragement! I look forward to Week 3.