Coming Home Fast
Day 64- Regular run- 4.13 Miles/ Day 65- Day Off
Day 66- Regular Run- 6.27 Miles/ Day 67- Tempo Run- 8.19 Miles
Day 68- Easy Run- 6.01 Miles.
I look different from when I left. My skin has browned, my hair has become lighter (maybe a little grayer) and I look rested. No more bags under my eyes. I feel a little different as well. A kind of foggy clarity that I know what I loved about my time away and what I missed from home, but an indecision about whether I am better off here or there. Being back here somehow feels good but I can only imagine a life where my obligations are running, reading, swimming and eating, in any particular order.
I landed Tuesday and so that became a necessary day off. I felt okay but after driving back from the airport, I cooked up some eggs, had a beer and decided to lay down on the couch. By 9:00 pm I was comatose. I had managed to set my alarm for five am so I woke up the next morning, hit the snooze button and then realized that I didn’t need the snooze. I had fallen into a deep sleep for 8 hours so I was ready to get up, my typical grogginess was not there. I went into the kitchen, brewed some coffee, made some oatmeal and mixed my Hammer Recoverite protein recovery drink (shameless plug only because I didn’t bring this with me to Greece and I regretted it). I ate my breakfast quickly and dug through my still filled suit case for a pair of shorts and a shirt. I glanced down and was reminded that I should use my foam roller to iron out some of the kinks I have been feeling. Again something I hadn’t brought with me on my trip but had regretted it when my IT band had tightened up.
I have run each day that I have been back. I have been greeted by the humidity that hangs over New York during the summer. Each day, I have stepped outside and felt this calm while looking down 21st Avenue because it feels good to have these familiar roads and routes in front of me. I have gone back to my usual routine, cranking down 20th Avenue by the Con Ed facility, wrapping up the East River and around the park a couple of times and back. I pushed harder on Wednesday because my legs felt fresh. I also realized something about my regular routine and route. All of my regular running compatriots were there and were happy to see me. I got various levels of nods and acknowledgements from the regular 6:00 am Astoria Park crew. What I became aware of this morning is that their recognition of me sent a burst through my legs. Unlike in Greece, where I think I saw three or four other runners during the entire two weeks, I was back on my home turf greeting my non verbal and unnamed best friends. Those familiar nods and acknowledgments, recognizing from my tan that I had been away, was enough to give a little extra to fight through the jet lag.
It’s funny because I had a separate conversation with someone when I got back about struggling through training and how certain sneakers impacted performance, yada yada. This morning I saw one of the regulars who I hadn’t seen since I got back. From across the path he saw me and gave me a warm greeting and we both shouted “Good Morning!”. I smiled and started going a little faster. Something completely mental but somehow it gave me the short burst. That inadvertent acceleration made me think about the race I ran in Greece when I paced pretty well for 13 miles after struggling with speed on my regular training runs immediately before and after. The comfort of being in a race, even in a foreign place, allowed my mind to disregard some of the things that may have been slowing me down (eg- unfamiliar surroundings, different type of whether and elevation). Anyone who runs races regularly will tell you that even on your worst race day, absent injury, you are going to run much faster than your typical regular paced training run. The adrenaline and energy you get from everyone around you is not a physical stimulant, its a mental one.
The amazing aspect of running and training for a race is discovering how much my mind can help motivate beyond what I believe are my physical limitations. So coming back home, in a familiar environment, I can now really reap the rewards of my two weeks away, recharging myself. It is a reminder that I don’t need to worry about the sneakers, the equipment or the other superfluous stuff, in the end I control the ultimate result, both mentally and physically.
