Sock it to Me

Concluded the easy week with about nine miles Sunday morning.  I started relatively late and ran in warmer weather than I’ve been accustomed to…but certainly the type of heat I will need to gain more exposure to.  Sweated things out at a 9:10 pace and wound up toe painting an ‘embryo’, which I will add to the gallery of lame art.  And on Saturday I managed to draw a dirty sock...

“Embryo” --- Toe Painting, by Vance

So I’m not terribly impressed with my new art form, but you have to admit it employs the world’s largest canvas.  I will continue to see if I can germinate anything appealing here, primarily because it provides fuel for thought during these runs.  I recently griped about not having enough time to devote to all this running, and time is a double-edged sword that cuts both ways…unfortunately you cut yourself both ways.

Beyond usurping leisure time, there is the further conundrum of what you devote your brain to during all that time pounding the pavement.  In fact, one of the caveats I’ve learned about long distance running is that a significant part of the challenge is in your head à many can’t handle long stretches purely due to the mental humdrum.  This hasn’t been an issue for me, and I feel confident it won’t be.

In fact, this might prove to be one of the select few competitive advantages I bring to the table.  I’ve always enjoyed having time to ponder, and since I am usually in the middle of a book or dwelling over a project at the office, training runs have proven to be a pleasant period of contemplation.  Since Chip and Simoni got me the iPod strap, it has been time to savor music and more recently, to take French lessons.  Can’t recall a time when I was plagued with boredom during a long run…at least yet, fifty miles might be different.

“Dirty Sock” --- Toe Painting, by Vance

The rest week is over and it will be another three weeks of 60+ miles.  That’s a bunch more canvas and time to mull over putting it to artistic advantage…   J