More Of A Breakthrough

I just finished week five, where the walk/run is 35 minutes per session.  On a scale of 1-10, most of the past weeks have been 8-9 on he difficulty scale, so I wasn't thinking this would be an easy week.

Actually, it wasn't easy.  Just relatively easier, a 6-7 on the exhaustion scale, but I did feel much better.  One of the main points of this blog is to inspire and help others, so if you're having trouble I hope you find some hope here.

I think there are two main reasons why I felt better.  First, continuing from my last post, changing to morning workouts has made a huge difference.  It's cooler and I feel fresher.  Also, eating more has given me more energy to burn, and who doesn't enjoy eating more food?

The second reason, which has been dawning on me recently, is to take it one day at a time.  Even during workouts, I have learned to try and not worry about how fast I will have to run in a few minutes or how tired I will be at the end.  Instead, break everything down into small, even one minute increments.  Try and have your mind think about something else besides running.

I have also learned to start applying this lesson to other parts of my daily existence.  For example, when I walk into the office (maybe I should jog through the door now?), or even before I arrive, I often think about all I have to do that day.  You can really stress yourself out by this mode of thinking.  I'm learning to break tasks down into smaller increments.

Applying that same reasoning to running a marathon, I've often wondered during these past few weeks how on earth I would ever reach that point.  There were times where I practically needed to be carted off after doing a 25 minute walk/run, so 26 miles was unimaginable.  I've learned that you can't look that far ahead.  Just focus on what you're doing that day.  I'm still not sure how I will run 26 miles, but have a little more faith  now that I might just get there.