Uh oh.

I am now less than 10 days from my event. And it is possible that I am getting sick. I have not been sick during any of the 20-30 weeks of training, but am currently dealing with some congestion and sinus related issues. Like always, perfect timing. The good news is that the problem is mostly in my head (I don't mean mental problems, I'm speaking of physical, in-the-head, sinus related issues). My physical condition makes me sound terrible and feel rough at times, but I have managed to not miss any workouts. . . . yet.

The best course of action, allegedly, is to go ahead and work out if the sickness is in your neck and above, and rest if the sickness is below your neck -- drinking plenty of fluids in either case. Today I am not sure where my malady is located, but I believe it may be heading towards my chest. My plan for today is to drink a bunch of o.j. and chase it away. I only have a 40 minute run scheduled tonight, so I am considering skipping it if I don't feel well after work. It appears that I have a pretty busy weekend, so some rest would probably do me good. I better restock on NyQuil. I love that stuff.

I got my wetsuit in the mail yesterday. I obviously don't own one, and didn't want to buy one (they are pretty expensive), so I rented one from an online company. They ship it to you a couple weeks before your race and you send it back shortly thereafter (or you can keep it and buy it for a discounted rate, with an additional credit for your rental payment). It wasn't very expensive, and I fully expected to receive a crappy suit with holes in it. But I received a very high end, seemingly new. It seems to be a pretty good deal.

Also, I have had one major obstacle clear up for my race week. I hadn't mentioned it on here, but I have had a big trial scheduled to start Monday and go through Thursday. As with all trials, though, there was a real possibility that it would have gone through Friday. If that happened, my triathlon would have been shot because I would be unable to get to Panama City Beach in time to register on Friday. Anyway, I say all that to say this -- my case has settled, I don't have trial next week, and I am planning to leave town on Thursday afternoon. Not only does this make my final training week much less stressful, It really helps having a more locked-in plan about leaving town.

Woops, it appears that this post is long, boring, and contains absolutely nothing of substance. Oh well . . . . that can't really be a surprise to anyone.

** Last night I did a bike trainer workout that lasted a little less than an hour and a half.

LATER.

Out of pocket

I was on the road and in meetings all day, so I didn't have a chance to post this morning. Nothing substantive to say. I'm about to go home.

*** Last night I ran 6.5 miles in 1 hour. This morning I swam for 1 hour.

See you tomorrow.

Because It it Important to Me.

"Because it is important to me" should more often than not be the reason we do what we do. It couldn't be much more simple than that. Of course, at times you have to do things that you would prefer not to do, that's life. But you should always be working towards something you believe in - not just do things because they are expected. I decided rather than trying to reinvent the wheel and articulate this thought, it would be better to include the following quote from Steve Jobs' commencement speech to Stanford in 2005. These few sentences sum everything up better than I could in 10 pages of rambling text:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs

***Last night I did nothing (other than swimming in the morning). Not on ly did I have an off day from training, but I had an out of town hearing cancelled at the last minute. After work, I went home, had dinner, and went to bed early. I'll be back at it tonight.

Double Doozie

Went to Double Decker this weekend and had a good time. Jessi, Bryce and I left the house Saturday morning about 6 and headed to Oxford. I was signed up for the 10k at 7:30 and a 50 mile bike ride at 9:00. Everything went well. I finished running and Jessi took me to the bike start where I got signed in, changed, had a snack, and was off.

This was the first organized bike ride I've ever done and it was actually a lot of fun. I rode the whole way with my buddy Jon (and a few straglers we picked up and dropped along the way). I felt great and hammered out the first 30 miles, and then came the hills. Of course, at this point Jon started laughing hysterically (mad scientist-like) and bounded nimbly up the mountains, while I did everything I could to keep up with him.

I guess if I had anything of value to share from this weekend it is how much nutrition matters while doing workouts of this length. Being hungry and underfueled not only makes your body tired, but it does strange things to your mind. At times during a long workout everything is great, but if your nutrition is insufficient your attitude goes bad. Everything seems terrible, you feel tired, and all you can think about is how much you want to stop.

Here's the simple answer -- If you begin to get overly tired or have negative thoughts (about anything) during a long workout, then you most likely need to eat something. You can pop a gel, or eat a few cookies and be back on top of the world in no time. The bad thoughts and feelings aren't real, but are manufactured by your brain in an effort to protect your body from what you are doing to it. You just have to learn how to interpret the signs your body is giving you.

After the physical portion of the day, we walked around the Square for a while and checked out the festivities. It was packed, but we had some lunch, spoke to a few friends, and went home.

*** Weekend Tally -- Saturday morning I ran 6.2 miles in 50:17 (8:07 pace), and rode just under 50 miles in approximately 2:35:00 (we probably averaged around 18 mph).

Sunday afternoon -- I ran 6 miles in 55 minutes (which was neither easy nor fun -- I don't believe I ever fully rehydrated after Saturday).

This Morning (Monday) -- I swam for 1:15. Lots of sprints and kicking drills.

I will be running pretty crazy for work this week and probably won't have time to post much, but I will try and keep up.

I Haven't Pontificated Lately. Here Goes . . .

Fear of something bad happening in the future is one of the things that separates humans from animals. Animals feel fear when faced with an immediate danger or a belief/sense of immediate danger. But only people have the incredible ability to fear something 1) that isn't happening now, 2) that they believe could possibly happen sometime in the future, 3) even though it isn’t even likely to happen, 4) and that most likely will never happen.

Of course there is a purpose to fear. A healthy dose of fear will keep you out of some hairy situations (I'm hoping Bryce develops a little fear soon, our neighbor is running out of surgical glue). But more often than not, it seems as if fears are unnecessary, unfounded, and serve no purpose other than holding people back from achieving their potential.

Maybe there is a way to feel fear and acknowledge it, but then move forward without allowing it to control your actions. What do you think the odds of something happening should be before the fear of that thing changes your life?

If I jump off a building, I will get 100% hurt -- therefore, I have made a policy decision not to jump off of buildings.

If I jump off a rock formation on the side of a river, maybe there is a 10% chance of injury -- If it looks like a normal rock formation, I may or may not jump. If it is a super cool rock formation that provides a photo opportunity and a good story, I'll give that a shot any day.

I guess everyone has their own level of risk they are comfortable with. But I would hate to miss out on a good story or a photo opportunity just because there is a slim chance of something going wrong. Most things worth doing, actually, include a certain amount of risk. Life without risk, or fear, would be pretty boring.

*** Last night I did a 1:30 bike trainer workout -- 30 min. warm up, 6X4/2 intervals, and 25 minute cool down.

This morning I swam (mostly drills), and plan to do a short run tonight in preparation for my Double Decker festivities tomorrow.

Tired, grumpy, and smelly

These are, unfortunately, the advectives that best describe me these days. I am at the peak of my training schedule and I'm pretty sure this is how I'm supposed to feel. If I can make it through this weekend, my training sessions for the two weeks leading up to my race are less intense in order to allow recovery before the triathlon. I just checked my log and I've worked out 33 hours in the first 22 days of April.

I really didn't want to go on my run last night. I was exhausted after work, went home and hung out for a few minutes, and had to leave for my run just as Jessi and Bryce were starting dinner. I almost didn't go, but Jessi convinced me that I would feel better once I got started. It is possible that she just didn't want me to sit around and complain all night.

I spent the first 35 minutes of my run trying to decide exactly what a stress fracture feels like. I had a pretty substantial pain in a the middle of my right foot that got worse for almost 4 miles and then went away (must have been nothing). Then I arrived at the track where I had a few half mile intervals to run. I felt fine physically, but my mind wasn't in it. I put in a half-assed effort at the track, but got the distance done. Afterwards I ran home, put Bryce to bed, ate a big salad, and went to bed at 9:00.

Hopefully last night's early bed time will help me out. But what I really need is to get some level of excitement back. So I have made a decision.

This weekend, with the help of the Double Decker Festival in Oxford, I have created a little duathlon for myself. There is a 10k (6.2 mile) run that starts at 7:30 on Saturday morning, and there is also an organized bike ride (choice of 24, 50, and 66 mile routes) that starts at 9:00. In my infinite wisdom, I have signed up for both the 10k run and the 50 mile bike ride (I'm still considering the 66 miler, but the 50 will let me finish by lunchtime and go to the festival with the family). I will be a bit rushed getting from the run finish to the bike start, but I am pretty excited about getting in some distance under actual race-type conditions (instead of running in circles by myself).

*** Yesterday morning I swam for 1:15 (doing heavy interval work). Last night I ran 6.8 miles in 58 minutes, just over 8:30 min/mile pace (there were some half mile track intervals in there, but I haven't downloaded the data).

Later.

Work, Work, Work

I've got a lot going on today work-wise. Will try to check in tomorrow.

*** Last night - bike trainer for 1:20 - mostly cranking a hard gear.
This morning - swimming (1:15) - mostly interval work.

Running Aimlessly

I got home from work last night, had a quick snack, and hit the road hoping to get in yesterday's planned long run in time to put Bryce to bed. Jessi asked where I was running when I left the house and I was confused and unable to answer. I knew how far and how long I was running, but had absolutely no idea where I would go. I generally just turn down whatever road seems appropriate. I also had to turn around twice because of black cats crossing in front of me. I hate cats, especially black ones. I'm not sure if there were two separate cats, or if I was being stalked. The GPS map of my evening looks like a Bryce drawing, but I got the time in (almost). I'm not sure whether my lack of direction is good, bad, or completely inconsequential. But it seems strange since I am so particular with other things I do. Maybe that is why I enjoy it -- When else do I get the opportunity to turn my head off and run aimlessly for an hour and a half.

I didn't feel great for the first few miles (I think it had something to do with my swim workout earlier in the day), but I really felt good after the first half hour. I was running a little late and wanted to see Bryce before his bed time so I bagged it after 9 miles.

*** Yesterday morning I had a 1:15 swim workout. Last night I ran 9 miles in 1:24:58 (avg. 9:44 min/mile).

Weekend Update

Had an out of town trip this weekend, which always makes long workouts difficult to schedule. I do my best to get everything in, but sometimes even a key workout has to be culled due to family stuff.

We went to Nashville this weekend for Annie Wood's baptism (Wes and Susannah's little girl). Everything went well, but we fit a lot of stuff into a short time period. I got back home late Sunday afternoon with every intention of hitting the road for my 10 mile run, but after the drive (mostly in bad weather) I was tired and hungry. Since a bad long run could absolutely wreck my already shaky confidence at this point in time, I postponed it until tonight (Monday).

-- As a side note, I did learn a lesson this weekend. If you ever find yourself hanging out in the lobby of a Mexican restaurant while in town for an important church and family related gathering, it is best not to put a huge black and silver dragon tattoo on your little boy's forearm with the caption "Welcome to the Jungle." Even though the tattoo is totally awesome and the little boy will love it and show it to everyone, not everyone will be so appreciative and you will get several interesting looks and comments from others throughout the weekend. It is amazing that there are so many things I don't know about parenting (and responsibility in general). I learn something every day.

*** This weekend's workout (unfortunately, that is singular, not plural) -- I was able to get up early Saturday morning and ride on the bike trainer for three hours before leaving town. Sunday I did nothing as explained above. This morning (Monday) I swam for about 1:20.

Wet Behind the Ears

I made it to swimming this morning. It is amazing what a few weeks out of the water will do to your swimming fitness. I felt like I was being waterboarded for a little over an hour. Apparently, during my swimming hiatus, I completely lost the ability to breathe cleanly. To make matters worse, my lungs have zero tolerance for water, making the entire morning a bit of a man vs. himself (or would this be man vs. nature? Could any literature types help with this?) struggle. At least the bubble (winter cover) is off the pool, so we were able to swim outside while the sun came up. I need to get back into form pretty quickly if I'm going to make the 1.2 mile swim in my triathlon -- if my lungs hate pool water this bad, I'm sure they would not tolerate Gulf Coast water for 40-something minutes.

By the way, I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I looked up the map for the swim portion of this race. The directions (simplified of course) are 1) swim towards Cuba 950 yards (little over a half mile); 2) turn right and swim 200 yards; 3) swim 950 yards back to Florida. Maybe I'm naive, but it seems like they could keep this entire swim a little closer to shore. Just a thought.

*** Last night I did nothing. I had a run scheduled, but Jessi had a cooking class so Bryce and I went to Dick's to get some supplies, had dinner, and did guy stuff. Swam this morning 1 hour 15 minutes, plan to do a short bike/run brick tonight (probably the only time I'll do all three things in one day during training).

Important Things

No, I don't have anything important to write. Last night I was thinking about priorities (again), and focusing my limited attention on the things in life that are actually important. It seems as if most people believe that everything they do is important. I have a lot of thing to do each day, but in the grand scheme of life, not many would make the "important" list.

Yep, I've decided to make an "important" list. I started in about 5 seconds ago and it only has a few things on it. It is surprisingly short, but once I saw the legitimately important things on paper, all the other stuff paled in comparison. Maybe it wasn't important after all.

*** Last night I did 1.5 hours on the bike trainer with 5X4/2 intervals in the middle. Tonight I have a run and plan to SWIM in the morning (VERY IMPORTANT).

Later.

Lazy 1 --- Swimming 0

There are few things in life that I hate worse than oversleeping. In fact, I can't think of anything at this moment that irritates me more. Can you guess why I didn't swim this morning? Yep, just didn't get up on time. There is a slightly more eventful back-story that would not interest anyone, and it is a little more exciting than a general "slept through my alarm" type thing, but the ultimate outcome is that I didn't get back in the water at my first opportunity because I'm a lazy dummy.

I'm going to do my best to chalk it up to "my body obviously needed rest more than another workout," and try not to be too hard on myself. I will be in the pool Friday morning. I will be in the pool Friday morning. I will be in the pool Friday morning.

*** Last night I ran 7.32 miles in 1:02:46 at an average pace of 8:34 min/mile. I did a little less than a 3.5 mile warm up, and then hit the track for 5X800/400, which went surprisingly well. It wasn't necessarily pretty, but I hit each interval faster than the one before.

I know I have been getting away from my nerdy Garmin numbers and specifics on this blog, so I have typed out some of the lap info from my workout last night. I have a lot more information about my workout (probably too much for me to benefit from), including a groovy heart rate chart showing all the great work I was doing, but unfortunately I don't have the technological skillz necessary to share it with anyone.

Lap #_____Distance (m)______Pace (min/m)
Lap 1_______1.00__________8:12 (warm up)
Lap 2_______1.00__________9:05 (warm up)
Lap 3_______1.00__________9:20 (warm up)
Lap 4________.44__________9:47 (warm up)
Lap 5________.51__________8:22 (interval 1)
Lap 6________.25__________9:14 (recovery)
Lap 7________.50__________7:33 (interval 2)
Lap 8________.25__________9:20 (recovery)
Lap 9________.50__________7:22 (interval 3)
Lap 10_______.25__________9:22 (recovery)
Lap 11_______.50__________7:18 (interval 4)
Lap 12_______.25__________9:35 (recovery)
Lap 13_______.50__________7:17 (interval 5)
Lap 14_______.36__________9:11 (cool down)

Bye.

45 degress and below. .

I just can't catch a break with swimming. Today was supposed to be my first day back in the water in about a month. I got the e-mail yesterday saying that the bubble is off the pool and that we "will not swim if the outside temp is 45 degrees or lower" (this part is important).

I woke up this morning a little after 4:30, let the dogs outside, and called the official time and temp number to check out the weather since it seemed a bit chilly. It was 45 degrees, exactly. Automatically, my attorney brain began to panic because I didn't have immediate access to e-mail and couldn't remember the wording of my e-mail -- do we swim if it is at least 45? does it have to be above 45? Why couldn't the temp have been either 44 or 46 and avoided all this early morning drama. Okay, I agree that in the grand scheme of life this isn't very dramatic. But there is nothing more irritating than getting up, leaving the house at 4:45 a.m., driving to the pool, not being able to swim, and then driving home to wait until it is time for normal people to get up.

Well, since we haven't been in the water in a month, I erred on the side of working out and believed that we would be cut a one degree break. Nope. Drove to the pool, sat there with many other cars (apparently everyone was anxious) and no one showed up to let us in.

I guess I'll try again tomorrow. Unfortunately, the temp forecast for 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning is 40. Hopefully it will be wrong.

*** Last night I did a high cadence, easy gear spinning session for 1 hour 30 minutes. Jessi and I were able to watch a few UFC fights while I rode. It was very romantic.

Later.

Sorry, no time

I have a lot going on this morning. Hopefully I will have time for an actual post later today. Otherwise, for workout log purposes. . . .

*** This weekend, I rode my bike trainer for an hour Friday night and 2 hours 45 minutes Saturday afternoon (I'm starting to get sick of this thing. I really need to get outside more). Sunday morning, I ran a little over 7.5 miles in 1:10 (it was supposed to be 9 miles, but I didn't have time to get it in before church).

Are you an Innie or an Outie

Introverts and extroverts. Most people simply think that loud outgoing people are extroverts, while naturally shy people are introverts. While that is the case a large portion of the time, actually being introverted or extroverted depends on what you do to "charge your batteries." If you feel energized and refreshed after spending time with people, you are extroverted. An introvert, on the other hand, needs that ever so special alone time in order to re-energize.

Apparently, I'm a familyvert. Jessi and Bryce have been gone since Monday and I've been dragging a little more each day. I have been having trouble getting pumped up for key workouts (I've been doing them, but haven't been as excited about it as usual), and have been tired in the mornings despite being in bed early.

I wonder if there is another way to look at all of this (things can never be too simple). Maybe the charging has just as much to do with the other people, as the chargee. Some people are able to indiscriminately pick up energy from other, random people. Some people are only able to pick up energy after spending time with particular people (close friends and family). And some people require time alone because others tend to suck the energy out of them.

It sounds stupid now that I write this, but there has to be something to it. It is unbelievable how much better I feel heading out for an after work run if I have the opportunity to spend 20-30 minutes hanging and re-energizing with Jessi and Bryce. They better come home today -- I need a boost.

*** Last night I ran 6.65 miles in 1 hour, keeping each mile just under 9:00.

Maybe I'm not made for quiet

I have been by myself all week. Jessi and Bryce have been in Florida since Monday staying with my parents (and trying to avoid the cold weather we had here). I always enjoy the first couple hours that I get to spend by myself, but then it gets a little too quiet. I'm looking forward to having them home to bug me a little.

*** Last night, I did a 90 minute interval session on the bike trainer - 30 warm up, 5X4/2, 30 cool down.

Easy is not trying, hard is irrelevant, and can't is possible

Here's my thought for the day. It's not going to change the world as I had hoped, but maybe it will stir up a little thought. I believe the hardest thing about getting in shape or running distances is knowing what feeling "tired" means. It doesn't mean you have to stop. When people run, they get "tired." When distance runners feel that same feeling of "tired," they don't give it a second thought. They know what they are capable of, and feeling tiredness, discomfort, or agony, is just part of the process. Elite distance runners and endurance athletes regularly experience pain during their workouts that we probably couldn't imagine. It is impossible to discover your true capabilities without experiencing these feelings.

I have been out running numerous times (especially when I'm just starting to get back into shape for something) and convinced myself that I'm dying and need a rest or walk-break, but after stopping for just a second I feel fine. I didn't need a rest, I just thought I did. I just wasn't accustomed to the feeling of "tired." Tired doesn't mean you have to stop, it is just a way you feel sometimes. In reality, I just wasn't committed, wasn't aware of my true abilities, and didn't reach my goal. It makes me a little angry just thinking about this.

Maybe people spend too much time trying to avoid any kind of discomfort in life. Pain, discomfort, and suffering happens to everyone. They are parts of life just like everything else. We don't have to welcome and celebrate these bad feelings, but maybe we should appreciate them a little more instead of just trying to avoid them. More often than not, each "bad" feeling we experience holds a lesson that we have yet to learn. Both good things and bad things happen everyday -- but almost always, even the bad things turn out to be good things in the end.

I am hesitant to re-read this post because I'm sure it is a rambling mass of confusion. Sorry.

*** Last night I ran 6.8X miles in 1:00:XX, with three half mile fartleks in the middle. This morning I got up and rode my bike for 45 minutes before work. I have a hard cycle trainer workout on tap for tonight.

Out.

Nothing special

Don't really have anything to write today. Last night I did a one hour spin session on my bike trainer trying to get the soreness out of my legs from the weekend. I ate dinner, did my bike workout, and went almost directly to bed. I would post about my thoughts and opinions, but I'm pretty sure I didn't have any last night. Apparently, I was a bit run down. 8 hours of sleep later, I feel recharged and will probably have an earth shattering thought to share in the morning.

*** Last night - 1 hour high cadence, easy gear spinning.

Later.

Humble Pie.

My weekend workouts taught me an unwelcomed lesson in humility and complacency. On Saturday morning, Jessi, Bryce, my good buddy Jon, and I loaded up and traveled up the Trace to Alabama. A mile or two across the state line, Jessi and Bryce dropped Jon and me off with our bicycles and headed home. It was a great day for riding. The temperature was perfect, and the wind was into us the entire time -- a slight breeze most of the time, but a substantial headwind for the last 10-15 miles. I had a flat back tire around the halfway point and was able to fix it without any substantial delay or problems (something I've never done on the road before). We rolled into Tupelo a little after lunchtime, worked our way through crazy traffic, and arrived at my house feeling pretty good about ourselves.

Here is where the lesson kicks in. After my ride I felt great and actually developed a twinge of confidence about my upcoming race. I went through the rest of my day, attended a birthday party, played outside, went to dinner, and felt good about things. I felt so good about things that I never made an effort to properly rehydrate or prepare myself for my long run on Sunday. When I left for my run Sunday afternoon I felt fine. I took off (actually running entirely too fast) and realized after about 4 miles that something wasn't right. My legs were fine, but my body really didn't want to go anywhere. I was improperly fueled and dehydrated (worst feeling in the world). Let's just say the next 5 miles weren't pretty, and my twinge of confidence about my race in less than 5 weeks lasted less than a day.

The moral of the story -- Everyone knows not to dwell on bad things and tough times. The past is the past and does not define the future. That is a great lesson, but it is important to realize that it applies equally, with perhaps even more serious consequences, to successes and good outcomes. Just as failure in the past does not dictate failure in the future, success in the past does not guarantee success in the future.

There is no room for complacency in life or endurance sports. Everyone has the potential to do anything, good or bad. In one of my most recent posts I said that "tomorrow isn't promised to anyone." Well, that is true, but odds are that we will get to see tomorrow. Maybe it would be more beneficial to say that "tomorrow isn't promised to be as good (or as bad) as yesterday." You have to make it happen.

*** Saturday, I rode my bike just under 60 miles. The actual workout portion of the ride (before reaching serious Tupelo traffic) lasted around 3 hours and averaged 18.3 mph. On Sunday, I ran 9 miles in 1:25. I ran too fast, wasn't properly hydrated, and had zero fun.

This week, I am on my own for a few days. J & B are headed to Florida right now, so I will be focusing on normal exciting bachelor type stuff -- Working, working out, eating well, and getting as much sleep as possible.

Later.

Guys night

I didn't get my scheduled run in last night, which was actually good because it stormed most of the time I would have been running. Jessi had an event to attend so Bryce and I played, ate dinner, played, and I rode my bike trainer after he went to bed (to play some more). We had a regular "guy" dinner of Clif Bars, corn, hummus, and bananas. Perhaps not exactly a traditional dinner, but we both seemed to enjoy it. We also practiced one of Bryce's newest skillz --tackling (actually he prefers to be tackled). I'm sure this will lead to a note home from school some day very soon.

*** Last night I rode my bike trainer for 1 hour. I have a make-up run scheduled for tonight, but I may actually skip it, do something lighter, and save my legs for my long ride tomorrow.

Later.

The Daily Grind?

This term is extremely well known, but confuses me. I heard it mentioned yesterday and it stuck with me. When you think about it, life happens every day. I have heard life described as what happens while you are making other plans. Every day should be enjoyed and appreciated, not thought of as a "grind." Does the acceptance and commonality of the term mean that most people don't enjoy daily life? Are they just killing time and waiting on something else? Only living for the weekends? Planning to have some fun in 10 years? Maybe even waiting to enjoy retirement?

I'm not sure what to make of this, but it is something I'm thinking about. Tomorrow isn't promised, better make today a good one.

*** Last night I did an interval workout on my trainer for about an hour and a half -- 25 minute warm up, 6X4(hard)/2(easy), and 25 minute cool down.

See ya.

Staying on track

I had a track workout planned for last night, but decided at the last minute to just do a good tempo run. After 4.5 miles (instead of the 1 mile warm-up my track workout called for) I started to feel guilty about not sticking to my schedule and then did my track work. The end result was a good workout, but I don't know how it will affect my training plan overall. I have to have faith in my training plan and preparation. If my plan calls for a short, hard run, that is what I should do, no matter how I feel.

I pretty much always have a lot of ideas running through my head. Most of the ones that pop up while I'm in the middle of something tend to be exciting, but not great in the long run. Sometimes it is better to stick to your game plan instead of constantly calling audibles.

*** Last night I ran a little over 7 miles in a little over an hour (I had no watch and no idea when I left the house). I ran a 4.5 mile warm-up, 3X800 hard w/400 cool downs, and a 1 mile wind down. I also got in a 1 hour spinning session on the bike trainer before work this morning.