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!