Now to Focus on Running!

Finally done with finals! *happy dance*

Just finished my last one yesterday afternoon.  Then I packed up and drove home and had a good long sleep.  I never realize how sleepy stress makes you until it wears off.  I am super excited because this gives me the next five or so weeks to focus solely on running, fitness, and being well!

I had a realization as I slowly ran today.  We had absolutely no rain this summer when it was over 110 almost everyday, and now we have had nonstop rain for the past 2 weeks.  I am not complaining, because I love the rain.  In fact, I even go to rainy mood when listening to music or studying!  But I would have loved it more if it were to have come to cool us off over the summer.  But the good news is, it looks like we shouldn't shrivel up like we originally thought was going to happen over the next 5 years.  

Now onto my run!  It was a simple 2 mile run, back on the path I ran over the summer.  To summarize it, it is a flat path out and back. Flat, in Texas? Crazy I know!  But it was a pretty peaceful run.  It was like all the stress of the last 4 months were washed away and I was a new runner!  Sadly, it didn't wash away that nagging in my knee.  I did stretch before it this time, and it made it so I went all 2 miles without having to stop, but it did creep up late in the run.  I am going to the chiropractor after this weekend though!  Overall was a pretty slow pace because I did the 2 miles in a little less than 20 minutes, but I shouldn't complain, at least I was able to get out there and run!

I won't be able to blog this weekend though, which is both good and bad.  Bad because I really want to put some more time into this blog over the break but good because I am going to go see my cousin graduate from college!  I always find it inspiring to see someone accomplish something you are also striving for.  Its like they are telling you that it IS possible, even if not directly.  So I should be back on Monday and ready to write!  Something else I have noticed is the lack of pictures on my blog.  I am not a great photographer, in fact the only camera I own is on my phone, but I think I am going to try and take some more pictures to make this more than a wall of text for everyone.

But to break the monotony of this text, here is some music!  The artists name is Ellie Goulding, and I think her music is pretty catchy!

Until next time, have a safe weekend, and happy running!

Late Night Post

Tonight is a pretty late post, even by my standards!  Slept in today, went for a mid day run, went to my girlfriends house then went to see a movie, and now I am back and blogging!  This early morning I though I would start off with a song that I really enjoy, and I think everyone in the world should hear!

It is a little long, but if you just turn it on and listen to it while doing other stuff I do think you will enjoy it!

Today's Run
I went for another 3 mile run today, but I did a little different of a route.  When I finished my 3 miles I was still a mile away from my house, so I took a leisurely stroll back.  It was a nice change of pace and a great cool down!  I was able to see that part of the neighborhood differently than when I am running by at more than twice that speed.  I was able to soak in the sun and hear the birds chirping, so in other words it was really nice.

Only 2 more days before I start the real training so I am excited to see what that has in store for me!  I think it will surely make the blog a lot more interesting to read!

Blog Update
I now have 13 followers! Woo hoo!  I thank all of you for subscribing and following along with me so far, and I hope that you continue to follow for many many more posts!  Hopefully I will also have more followers as I progress, and I think that once I get 50 I might hold a contest!  If I get to 50 and you notice and I don't mention anything about a contest, let me know so I can get on that.  I really do appreciate all of you though, so thank you!

This is a little shorter of a post because I am falling asleep at the keyboard, so I will probably end it here.  Have a great Saturday everyone, and I will probably post again later this afternoon!

Brett

Running To The Beat

Most people that I know who run insist they need their iPod to run.  I can understand why too, I use to be on of the people who said that.  I now run without music and I think it has helped me improve as a "serious" runner.  I am not saying that you can't be a serious runner if you listen to music, but I feel that when I run without music I am more in sync with my body, and I can focus in more on my running.  In this post I felt like figuring out the pros and cons of running with and without music.  I think I will write it in a paragraph form to go more in depth with my reasoning, but then I will just do a bullet point pro/con list for you skim readers ;)

With Music:

First I will start with running to music.  I use to always, always run with music.  If my iPod was dead, I wasn't going to run until it charged.  It was very inspirational to run with upbeat songs that sung about perseverance , and I will admit that it helped keep me going when I would want to quit.  Another example is some running routes are boring.  Mind numbing boring.  The music would help me keep the focus of the path and on the songs.  The only problem is, I would be a slave to the beat.  I would run at whatever tempo the song was because my body would sync to it and I wouldn't even notice.  I would end up spending more energy running a mile than I meant to because a really fast tempo song came on or the complete opposite would happen and I would run a slower pace than intended.  Now on to my list!

Pros:

- Motivating

- Distracts from running boring routes.

- Pumps up.

Cons:

- Beat dictates pace.

- Takes away from paying attention to run.

- Distracting (cords, iPod itself)

Without Music:

This is the way I have been training lately.  No strings(or wires) attached.  While it is a little harder to run without music on those long grueling runs, I find it to be refreshing to go out, just me and my legs.  I find it a lot easier to focus on a certain pace and I am able to push myself without having to split my focus.  I can just go.  The downside is that when it gets really tough and I want to slow down/walk I have to encourage myself to keep going.  We all know the hardest person to motivate is ourselves sometimes.  I can easily rationalize why I should slow down, but with music I can just focus more on it and keep going.  But that's why I think that it helps me become a more serious runner, because I become accountable for my running and getting across that finish line.  To the list!

Pros:

- Focus on running.

- Run at pace set by runner.

- Become more disciplined.

Cons:

- Less motivating.

- Easier to quit(in my opinion).

- Having to be accountable for self(can be really hard some days)

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Now that I compare and contrasted the two, I can go into a little more depth on what I do.  While I no longer run with music, I do listen to music that gets me pumped up right before I run.  That way I can get hyped up to go do a good workout, yet I can focus more on my running than my music.  Now I would like to hear from y'all!

Questions:

- Do you run with or without music? For training? For races?

- Have anything else to add to my list?

- Do you agree or disagree with me? Why?

Well my race is tomorrow, so I am going to go get some sleep :)

Brett