Give and you shall receive

At 6:00am this morning, I walked into a local breakfast spot to meet a good friend for a bagel.  Running in front of the entrance were two young women, obviously out for a training run.

"How many miles you going this morning?"  I asked.  The smiled "Four solid miles!"  They seemed pleased someone knew what to ask.  

This evening, I went out to get in the mid-week 10 mile run Hal Higdon said I needed.  Just past mid-way, near the Purdue campus, a young couple was walking along the same path.  "How many miles you done this evening?" one of them asked.  I smiled and responded warmly "Six so far!" 

Nice bookends of running encouragement today. 

Persevere.  And ask runner just how far she's going.  

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The Gut-Brain Axis

What a cool term..the Gut-Brain Axis.  It was coined by researchers who have found a strong link between good bacteria in our digestive tracts and our feelings and thinking ability. 

 

NPR had a good piece on the topic this morning...here's the link:

 

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/07/14/422623067/prozac-in-the-yogurt-aisle-can-good-bacteria-chill-us-out

 

This is why we often talk  about "going with our gut" or "that was a gut check" or "she made a gutsy move" or "I have butterflies in my stomach".   Our vocabulary describes what we instinctively knew but now seems proven scientifically. 

 

Trust your gut as you persevere.

 

 

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So just how humid was it?

As I finished Sunday morning's 12 miler, I knew I was sopping wet from the sweat in the humid morning.  When I walked up to the house, I noticed my shorts were dripping onto my legs.  I walked in, did not sit or touch anything and in the shower, I literally wrung out at least a cup of sweat.  

Yeow.  

Persevere, no matter the humidity.

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Donald Trump

A columnist describes Donald Trump:

He puts individuals and groups down in a mean and careless way. He has poor impulse control and is never above the fray. He likes to start fights. That's a weakness. Eventually he'll lose one.*

And it bothers me that people seem to enjoy watching him rather than devoting themselves to more productive uses of their political insights and time. 

What I think about while I run....WITAWIR

Persevere.  And take care of your hair.  

*Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, July 11, 2015

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1 Water Stop = 100 Feet Lost

Engineers love numbers.  Runners love numbers.  Since I am both an engineer and a runner, the effect is multiplied.  Or maybe raised to the second power.  Or maybe matrixed.  

To wit:

I'm strongly pursuing a sub 4 hour marathon this year.  My training plan today called for 6 miles at marathon pace.  So, I utilized my Garmin 305's "virtual runner" feature, in which the screen compared my position with respect to a mythical runner at a perfectly even pace.  It then tells me how many feet ahead or behind I am of Myron, the Mythical Runner.  

Of course, in a race, you never run a perfectly even pace.  And my sub 4 plan calls for steady running but walking through all water stops.  So what's the impact on my overall pace to walk through a water stop?

100 feet per stop.

I simulated several water stops this morning, getting two cups of water, taking four gulps and dumping the rest on my head, while walking.  In every case, it cost me right at 100 feet with respect to Myron.  

I ultimately beat Myron by about 600 feet but he didn't seem to feel too badly.  He did quip though "Man, I was catching you at those water tables but couldn't get by you."  He'll be ok.

Persevere. 

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Talkin' up Hizzoner

During a recent evening run on our towns excellent running/walking paths, I came up behind a guy out walking his dog.  It struck me he looked a lot like our mayor.  Alas, it was.

I joined him in walking and asked him "Does anyone ever say 'thank you' for these wonderful 20+ miles of walking paths?"

He laughed and said "No, I only hear the complaints when one of them has a crack in the asphalt!"  We had a nice chat and he seemed to appreciate it.  

It's cool to live in a town small enough to know and chat with the the mayor.  It's also almost always good to encourage and pay a compliment.  

Persevere. 

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What I think about when I run

WITAWIR...I may well start a series of short posts.  I think a lot while I run.  Does it make sense to anyone else??  Not sure.  But I'm going to put these here on the blog.  They will be short. 

 

Persevere. 

 

 

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