Motivated to Succeed

2:00 PM - Sunny and humid; Temp in the mid 70s. Wanted to try to go back on the bike for the first time since the accident but didn't for two reasons. First and most importantly, my parents didn't think it was a good idea. Second, I got called into work. I never work Sundays! :( Grrr. Spent most of the morning trying to get school work done. It's just so hard to concentrate on school work in the summer! Less than two weeks though until I'm done! Went to the nature trails at the school. Did a couple laps on the track and then hit the trails. Felt good. I don't know but I think I ran more than my Garmin said I did only because I didn't change strides or anything and when I was running between the trails on the field I was averaging 8:00-8:30, but then I'd get on the trail and it would say 10:00. I won't guestimate mileage though. Better to underestimate I suppose. Have a great day everyone!

Total Time: 28:23  Total Distance: 3.0 miles  Average Pace: 9:26

5:30 PM - Some bad thunderstorms today going through Albany and Saratoga Counties. Really feeling the "crunch time" trying to get everything done for my summer class with only one week left. I really don't think it's going to happen. Not getting the grades I need to achieve "mastery level" is frustrating. Add to that the fact I am working 4-5 days a week and that makes for some stress. I decided to go to Emma's after school today because I haven't seen her in over a week. She looked up some nature trail in Great Barrington for us to go running on so we drove about a half hour to Great Barrington, MA. Along the way in Stockbridge we saw all this white stuff on the road. I said it was probably pollen because of the huge downpour. But Emma said No, it's got to be snow! We pulled over and sure enough it was hail... lots of it. The most I've ever seen actually. And it was weird because it was only in this one part. Emma got out of the car and I took her picture. I only had my phone though. There was an even bigger section of it across the road but some lady was already over there. Still it's amazing when you think about it in mid June seeing this much ice fall from the sky!

SNOW IN JUNE?! IT REALLY IS CHRISTMAS!

When we finally got to Great Barrington we went to the Housatonic River Walk. Only it was somewhat disappointing. Only about .10 miles long. And there was a sign that said "Warning: No biking, no roller blading, no running". No running? Screw that! We ran! We are such lawbreakers. Then we went and did a loop through the village and down past this castle looking thing, and then back through the village. It is a nice village, but very rundown. It used to be a manufacturing center but as with most industrial cities after 1950 things went downhill. It was nice to have a lovely jogging partner though as I very rarely have anyone to run with.

Total Time: 31:44 Total Distance: 3.42 miles Average Pace: 9:17/ mi

8:30 AM - 56 degrees, rain and 95% humidity. I don't know why but there's something about running in the rain that I like. Maybe it's the challenge. Or the fact that 99% of runners hate running in the rain that makes it so appealing to me. I got up and had a cup of coffee and then drove to the track and stretched. Started jogging. Felt really good. Was a wise move to take 2 days off. It will be hard to hold back to 3-4 days of jogging a week. Must remember slow and steady buildup. Ran a 5k (24:08 [7:46/mi]) and then stretched again and then a half mile cool down. No pain. I can feel the legs adjusting to the running again.  Splits were:

• Mile 1: 8:20
• Mile 2: 7:41
• Mile 3: 7:23
• .63: 5:27 (8:42)

Total Time: 28:53 Total Distance: 3.63 miles Average Pace: 7:58

6:50 AM - Wet, soggy, rainy, humid. There was a cute old couple at the track. When I showed up it looked like they were racing. I think the guy let his wife win. :) I stretched and hit the trails for a recovery run. It was very muddy and everything was soaked! Still I had a blast! It's so fun to run in the rain!

Total Time: 22:10 Total Distance: 2.05 mi  Average Pace: 10:49

To everyone else like me that is battling injuries and trying to stay optimistic: Stay calm. Keep the faith. Maintain your optimism. Don't let anyone tell you "no" or "you can't". Runners are a tough stock. We take no timeouts. We run at dawn, at dusk, and at all hours in between. We make our own rules and play hardball 24/7. You guys and gals are the greatest and you have changed my life. So when you think the world has stacked it's cards against you, remember you are a runner. We are all runners choosing our paths through life, whether it be roads, canalways, trails, mountains, tracks, or 'dread'mills. We are all in this together. And yes we can do it!