On the shelf

No running until Dec 5th! That is the goal I have set for myself, with the help of my doctor of course. It's the only way to let my ankle rest up and hopefully be able to come out of the gates flying in 2012. After logging 1100 miles this season this is clearly my bodies way of telling me to take a break. Now most people would welcome such a break, I am not most people. I LOVE running, it comes easy to me and I can't think of anything I would rather do then to head out on a long, fall trail run. I don't think people enjoy running as much as I do because they do not allow themselves to shut their mind off. They are out there dreading every minute of every run, thinking about every ache and pain and not allowing their mind to escape the fact that they are exercising.

People ask me all the time (or they don't ask and just say I am crazy) what the secret is to running long distances. I don't think about running. Sure I check my pace and on many of my shorter runs I have time goals and distance goals like everyone else. However that is just the competitor in me and I never let it define my run. To truly appreciate running you need to let your mind wander and not let it become a dreaded task. Did you hate running as a kid? probably not. You just ran for the sake of running. You would run for no reason at all and never once think of what you were doing as a necessary evil. I truly believe running long distance is the only way to have this happen. You can't possible get lost in a 3 mile run, never going to happen. Running 13, 26 or even 50 miles is when you can completly get lost in a run. You just lose track, you stop thinking about what hurts and what doesn't and the next time you look down at your watch it is 20 minutes later and you are 10 miles from home. Now believe me when I tell you this does not happen every time. This "runners high" is not as rare as some would have you believe however.

I would venture to say every long run leading up to the Lake Placid Ironman for me was a slow, painfull death march. I got too wrapped up in pace and distance and making sure I had done the mileage to have a great race. However once the race began and I headed out for the marathon, after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 I got to the point where I really enjoyed that run. For me this is what happens When I train for and run ultras (any distance longer than 26.2). I don't worry about time, pace or distance so much as I take in what is around me and let my mind wonder which is a pretty cool thing.

So with this love affair I have with running, the next month will be a real challenge. I have had to cancel 4 races I had planned on running (all for fun) this month but know that it is the right move to make. With patience and learning comes the potential to be even better next year. So in order to keep my self sane and continue to progress and become a better athlete I am going to focus on my swimming and biking. So do me a favor and run a mile or two or twenty for me this month, I would greatly appreciate it.