Monthly Archives: August 2023

Early Morning Headlamp Run

I usually start my weekdays off with a run at about 4:45 am. The early hour gives me a chance to run about 5-6 miles before I go to work. This morning was the first time I needed a headlamp since late spring/early summer. Getting up early and going off for a run throughout the year helps me bear witness to the changing seasons, and altering light conditions as this planet journeys around the sun. In the spring/ early summer I can hear the migrating birds singing, and in the rainy part of the early spring, I pass several ponds full of frogs croaking. Being in nature, and starting off the day with a good run starts the day off right. No matter what I may face at work, I will have that one hour to run, and it is usually the best hour of the day.

Today’s run was rather short considering the weekend 20 miler. The purpose was to warm up the legs, and help the lactic acid to move on out. I ran a very slow 2 miles, and I feel so much better for it. Hope you have a great day!

Marathon Mind Game

On Saturday August 6th my husband dropped my daughter and I off in Buckley so that we could run 20 miles back to Puyallup. The first part of this run was new and interesting. I had never run Buckley or South Prairie, and it kept my mind entertained. As we approached the Carbon River at a point where I had run my previous 20 miler in preparation for the Seattle Marathon, my mind began to fight me. I realized I had ten more miles to go. My legs were tired, the terrain was familiar, and becoming more boring. I began to question whether or not I had it in me to go the entire 20 miles. I had been dreading the 20 miler, and I wondered while running if I should drop back to the half marathon. Could I make it?

Buckley to Puyallup 20 miler

My daughter got further and further ahead of me as I fought the negative thoughts. I began to realize that the marathon is not only a physical challenge, but it challenges what you believe about yourself. My daughter loves the longer runs. She thinks of them as a journey or an adventure, and so she can keep going. I on the other hand begin to question whether I am capable of this type of physical challenge. I had to tell myself to finish no matter what it took, just keep going. I began to realize that in the marathon the real battle is in the mind. When I finally reached the end of the 20 miler, I realized that I had run this one a minute faster pace than the one before. I improved without even realizing it.

My daughter running ahead