stink...

so yesterday was supposed to be my long run with A. i woke up with a migraine which pretty much ruled out anything that involved movement. suck. a whole day just out the window. i accomplished nothing. and just to make it all the suckier it was about 60 degrees and not very windy. not windy in OK is hard to come by and a mean bad migraine took it all away.

but today i'm feeling much better and hopefully will have a run today with A. i do have to say it's quite windy though. lately i've been thinking about the discomfort that comes with running. for some reason, possibly the whiner in me, i've always thought that running was easy for some people. like it was something that was natural for them and they weren't uncomfortable at all. i'm starting to wonder if that's not just an excuse i've given myself for never being very good at it, for very long.

i've been running long enough to know that a big part of the game is the mind. being able to overcome negativity, games to convince yourself to stay in to the next mile, finding distractions from the pain...but i don't know that i've ever really tapped into that. i've been reading the marathon book by jeff galloway and i just read the chapter on training your mind for the marathon. he talks about the left brain, the logic, and how it's job is to steer you in the direction of plesaure and away from discomfort. "Any form of stress or percieved stress will stimulate a stream of messages telling you to 'slow down' or quit!' or to question or sanity: 'why am i doing this?'" because we rely on the left side when we are weak it's very easy to listen to these messages. The right brain in our intuition and allows the creative ability to overcome the negative messages from old lefty. so he talks about playing out rehearsal in your head to practice for the big day (and luckily we get lots of practice training) so that when something does bother you, you have a plan so that you don't start listening to lefty. for an example how to desensitive yourself to uncomfortable parts. he also talks about mantras so when you feel like you can't keep going you have little catchy things to say to your internal self: feet stay strong, my heart is pumping better, more oxygen, i feel comfortable - i'm in control, i'm floating. or how to preoccupy your left brain: find something to look at and analyze, one more step, one more step, one more block, baby steps. as i type this stuff it seems a bit hokey but i'm thinking it might be something i really need to consider trying or at least thinking about more.

lastly he talks about the vision exercise -
i'm looking forward to my run because:

• the physical exertion will feel good
• my legs want to run (oddly enough, i had a running dream this morning - desire or dread?)
• increased blood circulation makes me feel more alive
• i love the way i feel afterward - relaxed and focused, with great attitude
• my family appreciate the way i am after a run
• it's so great to run in the morning to get the mind and spirit movilized and focused on the day (seriously? said with a bit of sarcasm)
• my afternoon run takes away the stress, getting me ready to enjoy my family
• during the second half of my run and afterward, i'm on endorphins

so yeah, that's just some food for thought. i was watching tv this morning and came across the xterra world championship. now those people are amazing. i heard one woman say "the people who do well at this race are the ones that when their body is screaming at them, they tell their body to 'shut up!'" i thought that was something i should probably learn from.

oh it's just some wind right...