I apologize in advance: I think this is going to be a little long ...
Yesterday, I talked about about spiraling down in training, and how I had got into a bit of a rut over the last couple of days. I was determined to break that cycle today, realizing that this was more about my mentality, and losing control over little choices I make more than anything else. As much as one can spiral down, I beleive you can spiral up too. You can just be on top of all of it - you do a workout and absolutely kill it, it breaks your flesh but you feel more energy in yourself after the workout than before, you eat well, you sleep well, you connect with your loved ones, and you are at balance for a brief moment in your world. So I looked to start to get back to that today. One step at a time. Ridiculous ain't it?
I did not get on the mill until 8:15PM, so I'd be a liar if I did not say that think about putting off this workout, this run, and just floating in this muck for another day. But I was able to clear my head (finally) after a few hours free from work, hanging with the family for dinner, and chatting some good talk with my bride.
Bear with this transition here, it will come back around ...I have not really been watching this drama of the Presidential Race. I have lost hope in our federal government, its representatives, Democrat and Republican alike. I have come to wonder if we should ever trust a person who spends millions of dollars to get a position that pays them 400K. Nonetheless, a lot of my friends are wrapped up in it, and TG sent me a link to the recent video, "Yes. We. Can." It is a damn catchy riff, a beautiful video and I found it to be a moving message. TWK (welcome back to the blogosphere! Love the title!) sent me a post stating that most of our emotions, and hence actions are an outcome of fear, love and hope. The "Yes. We. Can." video represents this (it ain't about politics in that video to me, even though it is obviously marketing a candidate, I am still undecided on who I will vote for, mostly because I don't know much about where they stand on the issues), our journey's up Pikes and back, Lucho's dance with the marathon, PM's drive to master his IM, JV's jaunts up mountains, all of us ... we are doing this because we love being out there, we fear the days when we won't be able to, and we hope to transcend what we currently are. Ridiculous, like I said ... if it is positive though, is it a rant?
I got on the mill and heard the words to that song, but they morphed in my head a bit.
It was a creed written into the your soul that declared the destiny of your humanity.
Yes you can.
Yes you can to greater good and serenity.Yes you can to grace and commitment.Yes you can heal yourselves and reach new limits.Yes you can become something more than what you are.
Yes you can.
You know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in your way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of you, calling for change in you.
You have been told you cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissonant ...........
You've been offered silver bullets and quick fixes, but in unique but common story that is you, there has never been anything false about hope and dreams that require commitment.Now is the time to write your comeback story, your chapter in the American dreamscape, and how you chose to do something more. You will remember that it is your choices, that it ALL starts with you and that you are not the victim of anyone else's curses, fears or spites except the ones that you create.
Yes. You. Can.
12 miles. For the first 10, I went 0% (7:24), 5% (7:45), 0% (7:06), 5.5% (7:39), 0% (7:08), 6% (7:47), 0% (7:05), 6.5% (7:22), 0% (7:05), 7% (8:14) and then warmed down real slow ... (9, 10), total was 1:33. I totally blew up in the 7% mile. I was not red lining but I just ran out of gas. My HR went down, I think it just all caught up to me ... but I did not care, as I was detoxing.
(today's pic is the start line of the Ascent in 2007)