‘Motivation’ Articles at , Page 15

Runner Time: The difference a single day makes

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Cait — 12 Comments ↓

Yesterday I ran the hardest, fastest I ever have before.
…today I crawled my way through four miles that PER mile were 3 minutes slower than yesterday’s and they felt 300 times harder.

Be a runner down to the bones.

Only yesterday I was still recovering from stress fractures.
…today I RAN the sweetest 6 minutes of my life.

At this time yesterday I was horribly lost, should have been done with my long run three miles ago and not sure if I was going to be able to make it home.
…today I’ve ran my longest run to date; it’s the one I’m most proud of because I DIDN’T ever stop running until I was home.

Twenty-four hours ago I jogged 20 minutes, did 6 strides, and stretched like a fiend.
..Right now I’m standing at the starting line, poised and ready, nervous because I don’t KNOW what lies ahead but I sure hope it’s a PR. Oh, and a win would be nice too. 😉

It’s incredible how much a day makes in ‘runner time’. The bitter-sweet rewards of a hard workout are the tomorrows where you’re walking like a geriatric. Tear the muscles down to rebuild them stronger…
…the tomorrow’s after the tomorrow’s after the tomorrow’s are then the fully sweet rewards of that work.

Time will always march forward. Hold this truth close to your runner heart in times of injury. Cling to it in the moments after horrible races. Stay steadfast to the runner course…tomorrow will ALWAYS come. Sure, it may be sore or slow, but it could also be fast and euphoric. Either way, there will be another tomorrow for you to try again.

Yesterday I was a runner. Today I still am. Tomorrow I will be too.

——-
The site’s had an overhaul, so peruse the pages and check out some spruced up material. I’m excited to have more AWESOME looking models rocking my running shirts…I’ve got some more so eventually I can fully take down my uglys mug. 😉
——-

1) Do your own yesterday vs. today comparison.

2) Do you tend to get more sore after a hard workout the day after, or two days after? It can be common that it’s actually 48 hours later you really feel the brunt of it.

3) What are YOU looking forward to tomorrow?

Improve Your Running By Asking Yourself THIS Question

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Cait — 30 Comments ↓

Before you step out for your next run ask yourself this, “What am I trying to accomplish?” Every run should have a PURPOSE.

Defining the PURPOSE of every run is important for a lot of reasons:

* Motivation: The first obstacle with running is just DOING it. Set a goal, a purpose, REASON why you’re going out there. Whether it be to just have fun and enjoy the fun, to make sure you get some recovery miles in, build your base, hit the track, or toe the line for a race. It’s a lot harder to blow something off that is DEFINED rather than ambiguous. (ie: I guess, maybe, I could, like, go out and run, maybe?)
* Improved Workouts: If you’ve got a hard workout for the day, figure out the GOAL of that workout. Is it to improve your speed? Endurance? Hill strength? Know what the aim is, once defined as concrete it’s easier remember why it’s important to put in the WORK. Mentally, when it starts to hurt it’s a lot easier to keep pushing knowing that you are working towards a definite goal.
* Over-training: Setting a purpose for each run not only makes sure that you give it your best for hard workouts but it also has the same effect on those of us who tend to overdo it. Stop and think, “WHY am I going out for this run? Is it in the best interest of my long term plan, will these miles DO something for my running? Or, am I just running to run and these miles will just make me too tired for tomorrow’s workout?” See, the knife cuts both ways.

We keep running EVEN through those crummy runs.

* Perspective: Having the purpose set for each run makes our training look like a bunch of blocks, you’re building the runner you want to be. Some blocks are tiny and can’t hold that much weight (bad runs) but others are STRONG and make up for it (good runs). Thinking of it that way can help after those bad runs…it’s just ONE block…move onto the next.
* Fix a Weakness: I’m gonna send another shout-out to fixing your form and becoming a more efficient runner. Perhaps the last 1/2 mile of your next easy run should have the purpose of: “I will think of standing TALL every step of the last mile of my run.”
* Racing Long Term: Your training is not defined by a single run and your best race is NOT defined by a single run (day). No, what defines how well those races wind up is your cumulative training. Running is all about CONSISTENCY, all those runs leading up to your best race had a purpose, just like puzzle pieces that eventually make a kicak@$$ picture.

If you want your running to improve, set a PURPOSE for the run. Always know what you’re running towards because it helps get you out the door and GET IT DONE! 😉
——–
By the way this little trick works for de-stressing too. If you’re getting too wound up, putting too much pressure on yourself, and stressed about your runs think about it like this, “What am I trying to accomplish in this run?” Answers: “I want to leave my watch at home and run to enjoy it” , “I want to go explore a ton of new trails” , “I want to get OVER my phobia of the track, run for effort and not stress about splits.” See, it works. 😉
——–

1) Define a PURPOSE for your next run.

2) What was the purpose of your last run, if it was a hard workout, what kind?

3) Give me an example of a purpose for the run right after a really sucky run.
I’m not going to let the memories/thoughts of that sucky run effect my next run.

Runners: Get Faster Because Speed Goggles DO Exist

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Cait — 28 Comments ↓

‘Normal people’ have their beer goggles, runners have their speed googles. 😉

Long has the debate gone on over whether or not times have any sort of effect on the ‘hotness’ factor of a runner. Regardless of if a faster PR scores you more points with the runnerdudes or runnerchicks respectfully, there is no arguing over the fact that a new PR will ALWAYS up the confidence factor! Few things are more rewarding than beating the ‘old you’…all that hard work pays off.

Let us have a toast to a speedier you!

HERE are some workouts to hone your speed.

HERE is how to overcome track phobia…yes, it does exist.

HERE is why you should improve your speed…even if you’re not necessarily racing.

HERE is how hills can make you faster.

HERE are mental games to get through those tough interval workouts.

HERE are my own little prattlings on my love/hate relationship with quarter repeats.

HERE is a post on 3 important things to remember if you’re racing to win.

So regardless of trying to impress the ladies or the men, regardless of whether a new PR will rank you higher in the hotness factor…the REAL reward comes with that rush right after you cross the line, look at the watch, and feel the overwhelming urge to shout, “I OWNED that race!” 😉 [editors note: you don’t have to shout that, but if you’re fast enough you can pretty much get away with doing anything you want…so give it a whirl…lol.]
—–
Catch more of my Runner’s Strip Comic HERE!
—–

1) Do you think speed goggles exist? Do faster times make runners more hot?

2) What is your favorite speed workout?

3) What is your least favorite speed workout? Why? Is it because it’s your weakness and therefor need to work on it more? 😉

Stop Pressure From Sabotaging Your Running: RELAX

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Cait — 23 Comments ↓

Let’s talk about runners, pressure, stress, and how to be faster by just relaxing. I recently wrote an article for Competitor.com: “Run Relaxed to Your Next Personal Best”.

Keep the circle running on the track, not the ruminating doubts.

The thing is, it’s often times that runners WANT to run faster so badly that they end up shooting themselves in the foot. The stress of TRYING so hard is the very thing that winds up slowing them down. A runner then gets even more frustrated, TRIES harder, and usually gets slower. It’s a vicious cycle but typically one that every runner at some point gets stuck in.

Getting unstuck is a lot harder, because telling someone to ‘try less’ isn’t quite right; more correctly you need to ‘strain less’. But learning how to ‘try’ without the ‘strain’ is a complicated matter…it all comes back to that runner brain and the mindset you’re running with.

RELAX.

What a runner in angst WANTING to run faster has to do is, basically, stop wanting it so freaking hard. Crazy, right? Let me explain the chain of events:

1) Runner is worried about a tough workout. They take those nerves into overdrive and cross the line into ruminating about paces, splits, etc.
2) Rumination turns into STRESS. They’re so wound up about the workout or race, they doubt if they’re capable, they worry they’ll fail.
3) Nerves, turn to stress, and then to PRESSURE. They load themselves up with so much pressure, it’s kind of like they are putting a weight-vest on themselves.

Being so worried and stressed is the kiss of death. It’s hard to describe WHERE the line is between enough nerves to propel your performances forward and then too much so that it kills your performances, so we often look for external cues.

Think of cake if that makes you relax!

Get Relaxed

1) Run Relaxed: This applies to form and physically ensuring that you’re not harboring extra tension. The article describes those four major points and how to relieve that tension. Often time, shaking out your tight shoulders or jaw acts as a ‘reset’ button and can get you back on track.

2) Mentally Relax: Usually it’s a build-up of stress that leads to over-thinking and stressing over every workout or run. If you get to that point think of ways to get back to having fun with your running, suggestions HERE.

3) Stay in Check: Before you get to the point of freaking out before each workout catch yourself early. Practice running where your mind is on keeping good form, staying smooth and strong, repeating mantras [I am strong], and staying confident in yourself as a runner. This line of thinking sets you up to ‘try’ the right amount because you’re not consciously telling yourself to TRY.

It sounds so backwards, but next time you start berating yourself over a missed split STOP. Take a deep breathe, try a ‘reset’ technique, and don’t try so flipping hard. RELAX and RUN.

1) When was a time when you were trying so hard you got in your own way?

2) How did you get yourself back on track and ‘try’ the right amount?

3) How do you catch yourself if you notice you’re starting to over-think things and put too much stress and pressure into running?

The Apathetic Runner: Are you stuck running in the ‘meh’ zone too long?

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Cait — 30 Comments ↓

Runner apathy? I read an article about apathy as it applied to ‘normal’ life and as per usual there is a running parallel. It’s reportedly becoming more common that people are stuck in a sort of happiness limbo; they aren’t necessarily depressed but not happy either.

Now, I’m the first person to say, “Suck it up. Seriously, people are inventing diseases and disorders at this point!” So don’t get me wrong, the fact that this article was trying to tell me that apathy should be some new kind of quasi-psychiatric problem just above depression at first made me roll my eyes.

BUT I do think getting into a rut, as a runner, can happen and it’s important to dig yourself out to not only feel better running-wise but so you don’t lose the initial passion that drew you to the sport.

The problem with constantly feeling ‘meh’ is:

1) It sucks.
2) It’s boring.
3) It’s a small step to resenting the run.
4) A short jaunt to quitting…or at least runner slackdom.

Runner apathy is also a tricky one because runners have become conditioned to tune out a lot of signals from their body/brain. We have to in order to dull out the ~~pain~~ discomfort of hard workouts and races. So it’s quite easy for a runner to dig themselves into a little pit of ‘meh’ and not really realize it.

How about ‘Carpe The F’ing Run’? 😉

What’s the Deal With a Runner Apathetic

I’ll be straight, there will always be days when you’re not feeling the run. Here is where some tough love comes in and I’ve written plenty on tips for motivation. But start stringing together weeks of needing to talk yourself up and that shouldn’t be the case.

Every time you need to talk/hype yourself up to go run it takes a degree of mental energy, even more mental energy to hype yourself up to do a hard workout, more for a race. A runner only has SO much of that mental energy, think of it like a full glass of water. You take a sip every hype-up session, but keep doing that too much and you wind up dry.

* Health: The first thing is to rule out any physical reasons why you’re feeling more tired, lethargic, or ‘off’. You’d be surprised how easily it is to start dreading your runs if you’re anemic and every step feels like an insurmountable amount of effort.

* Missed Break: Through the course of a racing season, or gearing towards your big goal race, all those hard workouts and ‘smaller’ races take it out a person mentally and physically. Even if it doesn’t ‘feel like’ you need a break or some time away, if you are competitively training for multiple months you’ll need some down time. Even professional runners take breaks, just as much to recharge physically as mentally…you can revisit my article on that HERE. If not, you can go into the next season feeling ‘meh’.

* Season Lull: If you’ve taken your break but still have a long pre-season build-up those early season runs and workouts can lead runners to feeling a little apathetic. I mean there isn’t the taste of a race coming up, so amping yourself up for a hard interval season may not be the easiest thing to do.

* Too Heady: I’ll blanket this to cover getting too wrapped up in the pace of EVERY single run. Stressing yourself out to the point where every workout you’re so focused on the splits that you start to dread it. Comparing yourself so much to what so-and-so is running, comparing to your ‘pre-injury’ self or workouts you used to do. All of this mental energy is SOO life-sucking.

Yo, so you’re apathetic?

Figure out what you’re deal is and then get to fixing it. Easier said than done sometimes, but certainly possible:

* Health stuff, go see a doctor and figure out what your next step is.
* Take your breaks, People. I’m the first offender for wanting to talk my way out of a break, but if you’re competing you NEED breaks between seasons. Even if you’re not necessarily on a racing team, breaks can help keep you excited about running. [By break I mean a 1-2 weeks off/low, two or three times a year…not like run a week, take a break…haha.]
* Long season? Start looking for low-key races to jump into just to keep the ‘taste’ of competition fresh. Some people NEED a specific race/event to motivate them, that’s okay, just find that motivation. Even if it’s a team time-trial.
* All runners have their head issues, so ditch the watch, take a Garmin hiatus if you have to, burn your old training logs so you stop comparing, run like a kid, whatever you need to. Remember it’s NOT worth letting a head trip ruin your love of running.

** Goals: Get refreshed and ink out some goals. Write them down and feel like you are working towards something, that each run DOES count.

Do I necessarily think there is an epidemic of apathetic runners on the loose? No…but I think we can all get stuck in a rut from time to time and feeling ‘meh’ isn’t so much fun.

So if this is you, go find your SPARK, because running is too much fun to feel only ‘meh’ or apathetic about.

1) Ever been in a running rut? How did you get your spark back?

2) How many ‘meh’ or apathetic runs in a row have to happen for you to start getting worried?

3) What do you do after your racing season? What does your break look like? How often do you take breaks?

Warning: Runners in mirror are stronger than they appear

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Cait — 18 Comments ↓

Don’t mess with me, I’m a runner. Looks may be a bit deceiving, I’ve had people call me ‘hummingbird arms’ or ‘wishbone’ but I can pack a punch. Runners come in all shapes and sizes, a few of us (okay, probably more than a few) could be dubbed scrawny…but don’t ever confuse that with weak.

I do my weights, core work like a good little harrier, am no stranger to the plyometrics. I’ll admit that it sometimes feels like I have to choke that stuff down because I’d rather gobble up more miles BUT I know all these ‘extras’ will make me a stronger runner. If you want to be fast, (or at least less slow…hehe) you’ve got to have a core that can keep you standing tall when you’re tired. You can’t have feeble little arms swirling around like a ribbon-dancer if you want to be efficient either.

Those arms can be slender but darn tooting they should be long, lean, and muscular. Okay, we may not ever bench the same amounts as those gym-goers with the permanent protein powder shaker bottles in hand, but that’s not our aim. Distance runners lift for higher reps and lower weight, duh. It’s all about the endurance.

Want to see us be a little more explosive? Then come to the track after a workout and we’ll show you our plyometric routine. Granted it may not be on par as the sprinters but for distance runner standards that’s some POP! You’ll see that same POP come the last lap of our 10k’s…all that explosive power translated into speed is something beautiful, I’ll tell you what! It’s even more beautiful to swing wide and pass that poor fool who neglected working on that power and speed.

Not all of the ways we build speed are so obvious, some of that power comes from the miles and miles run up hills. Hill repeats, yup, long runs on trails, you got it, tempo runs where the times are misleading due to incline…you bet!

But you want to know the BIGGEST reason you shouldn’t mess with a runner? The strongest assest of a distance runner is, in fact, their mind. I open myself up to hate from footballers, b-ballers, curlers (teehee)…but until you’ve done mile repeats until you swear you’re about to barf and then enter into the next rep, the day you run so long you’re not quite sure if you’re running so much as kicking your foot out in front of you and praying it catches, or you refuse to believe you’re beat so you DIG down for that extra gear.

Mental fortitude…that’s why you don’t want to mess with a runner. The rest, well, the rest is just enough for us to kick you @$$ with. 😉

1) Finish the sentence: Don’t mess with a runner because…

2) What is one way you’ve gained strength, speed, or power?

3) If you’ve played other sports, can you compare the different skills or mindsets necessary for them versus running. What has been the hardest sport or tested you the most?

4) Sometimes even runners have weaker mental days, it happens. So how do you rebound off of a ‘weak’ mental day, learn from it, and aim to not give up next time?
I always remember how crummy it feels when I know I’ve been a mental weenie.

The Complimented Runner: Why numbers will always trump words

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Cait — 21 Comments ↓

What’s the ultimate compliment for a runner?
Good form.
Stellar kick.
Awesome smile atop that podium.

I guess that works too! 😉

A little old lady remarked to me as I set off on my run this morning, “You look cold.”
“I’ll warm up fast,” I replied.
“You look cute though!” she then yelled at my back.
I thought to myself, “Okay, well, thanks, I guess?? But really, wouldn’t any runner rather hear: ‘You look fast’?”

Admittedly I know I didn’t look fast today, so maybe she was just scraping the bottom of the barrel in regards to compliments and could only come up with ‘cute’.

The thing is, sure, aesthetics are nice and all that jazz but there really is nothing better than the compliments that come from the watch, you know?

Well HELLO there, Mr. PR! DAAANG, I like what you’re spitting out, keep more of those kind words numbers coming!!

How about chugging through an endless set of intervals, each one faster than the next, sure the countdown to the last one started three prior, rounding the bend of that homestretch you’re swearing on your life that THIS is going to be the last one no matter what…and then you finish, look down and BAM yet another negative split!! Booyaah, that recovery jog, the lactic acid cripple shuffle, goes by way too fast but with that ~~validation~~ compliment from the watch you’re taking off with as much gusto that is humanly possible for yet another interval.

ACK…another interval! Well, you knew you were going to do it, regardless of what you promised during that last repeat.

Words are nice. Words are great. I’m a writer so I’ll even go so far as to say words are fan-freaking-tastic. But you want to know something?

Numbers, namely the RIGHT kind of numbers, to a runner are way freaking better.

There is no ~~validation~~ compliment like a PR.

1) What’s been one of the best compliments, in terms of being a runner, that you’ve had yelled at you?

2) What’s the oddest thing someone has yelled at you?
I once had, “You look like a praying mantis” shouted at me from a car.

3) Why can numbers speak more volume than words sometimes?
They quantify. Runners are all about those digits…distances, times, miles, are all concrete. Words can be ambiguous and iffy, not numbers.

A Runner’s Selective Amnesia: Push out memories of the crappy runs to keep room for the epic ones

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Cait — 23 Comments ↓

Runners need to live in a constant state of selective amnesia. Namely, we need to push from our minds the runs that feel like we are dragging lead bricks behind us or the times when our legs decide to pretend they’ve never run a decent split on the track ever before.

We keep running EVEN through those crummy runs.

We push from our minds the miles that are more painful than they should be and let the recollections of these dark workouts and dismal races slip into the darkest of chasms within our grey matter. We do this so that we have the fortitude to lace up and go out for that next run. Selective amnesia, you see, is quite a prolific coping mechanism for a runner.

The memories and moments that we cherish are the workouts that click, when we feel totally in sync with our stride. We are running controlled, relaxed, smooth, and ON. We savor the days where we come back from a long run with a new ‘personal distance record’, ironically we will even remember the moments BEFORE that long run where we wonder if we’ll be able to do it. We let consciousness retain those dark, slivers of doubt because in the end we proved those doubts WRONG. We now have more proof that the whimpers and whispers of doubts are fallacies and lies, we CAN do much more than our brain wants us to believe.

Let the bad runs fade into the background and look forward to the better ones.

Runners, we will even keep aroundall those mundane and ‘normal’ miles run because they are constants. They may not be all that thrilling or exciting, but they are the bulk of our running history and we can’t thrive on just the epic highlights. These regular runs also define us in that without these recollections we’d really only be runners a handful of times in our lives…I mean those EPIC runs only come far and few between. We continue to run in the quest of them, but we don’t stop because we don’t hit a certain quote.

Keep on living in that realm of being able to decide that once a certain heinous run is done, that it never existed. Do that so you are brave enough to shower and then run again. Those really bad runs test us and help toughen us up, we NEED them in fact. But rather than letting the craptastical runs DEFINE us, we are entitled to let them slip away into oblivion.

Selective Amnesia.

1) Have you had times where you felt ‘off’ and like your run was much harder than it should be? Did you pretend that once some of those bad runs were done, that they didn’t really happen, OR, that they didn’t suck as much as they did so that you were ‘brave’ enough to get out there and run again tomorrow?

2) How do you cope with bad races? Do you try to learn something from them and then give yourself permission to ‘forget’ them?

3) What is one run you will NEVER let selective amnesia do away with?

There Are No ‘Givens’ With Running

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Cait — 18 Comments ↓

Running is NEVER a given. This is true in a few ways:

* ABILTY: You can never get too ‘greedy’ with your running because sooner or later your ability to run will be snatched away in the form of injuries. Injuries STING and though they do heal, it often times feels like an eternity. Injuries come with the territory and they act as reminders to BE SMART. Don’t get overly greedy with miles, don’t forget the value of EASY days, remember to stretch and do the preventative care (icing, core work, etc.) to stay healthy. Injuries also test the fortitude of a runner, you can’t let them suck you into a depressive hole because in order to get through them and back running you have to be both proactive and positive. The worse the injury, the more of those double P’s that you need.

* EXPECTATIONS: Running is full of variables; science tries to help us get a read on most of those variables (nutrition, easy/hard days, training cycles, peaking, etc.) but at the end of the day there is always the margin on unknown. When you train like mad for a race, you do all you can to taper right but on any given day there is that margin of just rolling the dice and hoping the ‘right’ legs show up after the gun goes off.

* ACHIEVEMENTS: Play the odds all you want, previous PR’s and credits to a racer’s name do NOT guarantee anything between the gun and breaking the tape. Running and racing presents you with a sort of ‘clean slate’ every day in that you must get up and DO the same thing every day, you are tested by the SAME actions, and fight the same MENTAL battles to get what you want and obtain your goals.

On that last one, there is a really good interview with Meb Keflezighi by way of Competitor.com. I’d suggest you go read it; being that he is 41 it touches of course on ways he fights to stay healthy as a runner, how he is more attentive to his nutrition and how he’s adjusted his training.

Though, my favorite part comes in the last few lines as he addresses the fact that many runners look to him as an inspiration after winning the USA Olympic Marathon Trials and placing 4th at the Olympic Marathon, while being deemed an ‘old’ runner.

“The connection is that your best effort is not always about getting a medal. Once you hit the wall and fall back, it’s hard to push and gain, but that’s what I did in London, and that’s the beauty of running at any level. You fight for every spot, every second. It might be a few seconds for me or it might be 15 minutes for someone wanting to qualify for Boston. You earn it. You have to fight for not. It’s never given to you.”

In running and in racing EVERYONE is fighting, hurting, and pushing themselves regardless of level. Running, despite it’s crazy variables and unknowns, DOES reward hard work and perseverance. Respect it, don’t be greedy with it, cherish it, and then be ready to fight like mad when it is GO time.

1) Name one way that running is never a given and how you most recently were faced with that truth.

2) What is something you do to remind yourself not to ‘get greedy’ with your running?

3) What is something you are currently ‘fighting for’? (ie: race, goal, PR-chase, get healthy, etc.)

The Miraculous Millisecond After a PR: All a runner needs to validate all those miles

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Cait — 19 Comments ↓

I know you can’t run away from your problems but my brain tells me that I just might if I get a new PR. 😉

There really are few things that can get you more jacked (yes, I did just use that term and will stick by my choice of adjective) than a new personal best time. This applies obviously to races, but even PR’s in workouts. Crossing the line your legs are screaming at you to drop down dead to the ground but crazily thanks to being ‘jacked’ you’ve got this miraculous blitz of energy to postpone death drop for a second. In that second you are on cloud nine, beaming (at least inside, it may look like a sneer or grimace outwardly, but WE know it’s a smile!), fists pumping in the air (again, maybe only in our minds) and that lactic acid is numb.

Well, more like a millisecond of euphoric numbness but it IS there before the onslaught rush of muscles screaming at you because of the exertion. Even then, it’s sort of a sick and twisted awesome kind of pain that leaves you feeling jacked because:

1) YOU were beast-mode enough to last out the pain. You freaking bested your own brain that race, didn’t relent when you could have, pushed harder when your legs told you that you couldn’t, and you dug deep. Maybe deeper than you ever have before. Your body was being punished but you took it like a good soldier and kept your goals, the finish line, and the ever-powerful clock in mind.

2) You’re faster. I guess there’s no other way to put it…running works on two things: speed and distance. Improve on one and you’re pretty much validating all the work you’re doing. All the miles spent, all the workouts where no one knew you came out the mental victor, the sacrifices you’ve made, the nights you’ve visualized achieving that time. Validation.

So yea, I’m more than comfortable whipping out the jacked term, make fun of me if you must. I grew up in California so I’ll say if you get a new PR you have license to be hella hecka jacked. It’s bitchin.

Though, don’t rest on your laurels too much. Running is a little cruel like that…because guess what? You can still get faster. Of course you need to SAVOR those victories and achievements along the way, savor the heck out of them, but after that sweat has gotten super stinky (please, shower) the truth is running will taunt you, “You can still be faster.”

“Maybe not, you say?” Okay, this is true, there will inevitably be the PR that is a life PR but the other awesome thing about running is that it’s all relative. As in Masters runners still set PR’s…maybe a PR for their decade, maybe a new longest distance PR.

The term PR might eventually evolve into the word ‘goal’ for you. There is always the next GOAL to work towards. In the end, no matter what you call it, few things in the world (honest to goodness, I’d even argue with a meth addict to give chasing PR’s a shot…lol) leave you feeling more JACKED than obtaining a new running goal.

1) Finish the sentence: You can’t run away from your problems, but…

2) Brag time, when is the last time you got a PR? It can be from a workout even or you can swap PR out and use the word goal.

3) What leaves you feeling jacked?