It was a busy and hectic week as the semester is winding down and the work is piling up, but I thrive on being busy so the week flew by quickly. Nonetheless, I stuck to my training schedule and my #runstreak and kept things moving along on all cylinders. I even tossed in a marathon at the end of the week to cross another state off my 50 States quest!
Chasing42 Log: 20160426-20160501
Run: What a gloomy week! By the end of the week, my vitamin D levels were suffering, but I was out there all week putting in the miles. I squeezed in a little speed work, and kept things nice and straight forward leading up to the Delaware Trail Marathon on Saturday. The trails were in great shape for the race, and it was the only day during the week that it didn’t rain so I was a happy camper (review forthcoming). My legs have been feeling good, and I’m looking forward to traveling to Iowa next weekend for Market to Market Iowa!
Thought: I’ve been thinking more about mindfulness and intentionality while out on the run. We spend a lot of time thinking about the physical and technical aspects of our runs- foot strike, body placement, arm swing, turnover, shoes, apparel, etc. However, we don’t often think as much about the mental aspect of running. This certainly includes keeping ourselves in a good place mentally and learning how to dig deep when things get hard or don’t go as planned. However, I would like to think that this also encompasses using my time wisely while out on the run. I often use the time to process the day, plan for the next day, or think through any challenges I might be facing. It’s hard to give ourselves the time during the day to sit and think, and running provides a convenient alternative motivator for mindfulness. You can’t respond to emails while you are out on the run, you can’t work on that project looming over your head, and you can’t return phone calls while out on the run (and if you are, then you may want to reflect on that as well), so why not use the time to think more deeply about the topics that you don’t have time for otherwise. Chasing42 is all about the mind and body experience and running provides an amazing opportunity for both!