Two Lessons in One Session

The timelapserunner was not going to post today. At least that was the thought last night. After all, we've been posting pretty much every day now for a while, sometimes even twice a day. My bucket of ideas and experiences was no longer overfilling, I could see, so inevitably the posting volume would subside. But we learned a couple lessons out there this morning; lessons we wanted to document lest they be forgotten too quickly.


Lesson #1

Not every day of running is pure bliss.

OK. That would seem obvious to almost anyone. However, the obvious is not always so obvious. Most mornings the entire ritual goes pretty smoothly and the running feels good. Today, the warm-up walk / jog was feeling difficult, more of a struggle. Not sure why, it just did. No big pains or anything, just the usual little minuscule tweaks. The experience got better as the run went along, although at 75F and high humidity an extra effort was needed to persist. Midway through the run I was reminded why I'm supposed to wear a sweat band on my head: beads of salty perspiration were running into my eyes, which - coupled with the rising sun - made vision a challenge on the last leg of the workout.

Lesson #2

When your mind wanders, your pace may also wander.

If you're out there long enough, you start to daydream. I know I do. About all sorts of things. Mostly about running or some related issue. When the daydreaming is about running, then - most often - my pace picks up, especially if I begin to think about race day. As thoughts of what I'll wear, how far before the finish line I'll start to run without walking, whether I'll raise my hands into the air as I cross the line - usually my pace picks up. If I start thinking about my injuries or my woes, usually my pace falls off as I begin to feel heavy on my feet and slow. Looking back at my watch for pace information usually allows me to get back on target for that day, but I do wonder how many minutes I could get lost for, especially on race day.

It's all OK, however. Even these experiences are part of enjoying life, in all its many shades and hues.