Comments on: Running Log 2.2

By: KF

KF — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 16:49:31 +0000

You know, I’ve been pondering this since you posted it, and all I’ve been able to come up with is that there’s hard, and then there’s hard. All the job stuff you mentioned is hard, sure, but mostly in a time-consuming, stressful, aggravating way, rather than in a testing my physical limits way. And I guess the point of the mantra is both to congratulate myself for testing those limits and to remind myself that I’m actually quite lucky in my work life, that things are overall pretty cushy, and that nothing else I do really requires me to question whether or not I’m capable of doing it.

Except for the getting the book published thing. But boy, that’s a whole other story.

By: e. fiction

e. fiction — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 03:50:21 +0000

Well, I always have this fuzzy idea in the back of my head that I’d like to run a marathon some day, but then I put on my shoes and actually go for a jog and realize that running six miles is tiring enough. That discourages me sufficiently from pursuing the marathon idea in any real way. As with most things, it looks like I’m handling this running thing ass-backwards since I take it that one has to commit fully in order to have a specific training goal and progress accordingly.

Judging from your “the hardest thing I have to do all day” comment and from the rest of your blog, I gather that running eight or nine miles is *HARDER* than grading fifteen essays, attending three administraative meetings, flying off to three conferences a month, and getting a book published. In that case, I think I shall stick to the ol’ three-to-four mile jog or, better yet, to reading crappy magazines on the elliptical trainer.

By: KF

KF — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 16:48:05 +0000

Hey, e. Not a stupid question at all. There are several things that all the running magazines and books and websites will tell you—increase your mileage by no more than ten percent at a time; use walking breaks to help yourself go further; etc.—but there are several things that I’ve found necessary to running more. First off, a clear goal: why anyone would ever run more than six miles unless they were specifically in training to run something longer than six miles is beyond me. Second, music: the iPod distracts me from the pain just enough to keep me moving ahead. (Though I only use the iPod on the treadmill; running outside, where there are potentially cars and bad guys ready to jump you, it’s best to maintain full awareness.) And third, my mantra, which I look forward to repeating to myself every time I complete a run: “I’ve just finished the hardest thing I have to do all day.” In the middle of a run, the knowledge that I’ll be able to say that in a few miles can sometimes keep me going…

By: e. fiction

e. fiction — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 16:58:38 +0000

I have a really, really stupid question that probably only has one answer, but I’m going to ask it anyways: is there any way to make it easier to get over the five-to-six mile barrier (physical and psychological)? I usually jog about four miles, and can usually press myself to do five or six, but have never really managed to go beyond this point. I guess the obvious answer is to stop whining and force myself to run a few extra miles, but I wanted to know if you had any pointers for making the transition smoother.