Genius George Sheehan

"No less than the human being I become - I am the life that running has given me."

There is an uncharectoristic heavy duty quote for all you deep thinking runners.

" . . . the life running has given me." Whoa - I think I need to read more from George Sheehan.

Yelling at myself

Sometimes when I am out running and I feel myself slowing down, or thinking about taking an unnecessary break, I yell at myself. Not to myself, at myself. "Come on Rick." Pretty loud too. It is not negative, it is just like what a coach would do if the coach thought a little bit of encouragement in the form of yelling would get the athlete back into it.

Other times, after I run up a hill or have been running for 35 minutes, I may yell a cheer, "Ricky!"

I have been doing this for at least the last year or so. I talked with a sports psychologist about this and her take was that as long as it was not critical or negative or at another runner, then go for it. Thankfully, I did not pay for that insight.

Why bring this up today. I had to yell at some guy on my run today. "Hey!, Hey!!, HEY!!!, is that your mean looking dog not on a leash? I am trying to run here and I do want to get chased." It is so ironic, but when this kind thing happens, that the offender will often get mad at the someone who points out the offence.

Motivation

RuntoTheFinish blog posting on motivation is very good and worth reading. Movies, books, tools, new stuff. All good for getting motivated. I have to admit that the first week after buying new shoes, I do run almost every day, trying to get my shoes dirty.

Addition from me. I like to imagine how I will feel during and after training runs, races, or while I am in a good conversation with another motivated runner. I like to look good (for me) and feel good. Imagination and feeling. As Amanda points out, running is a mental endeavor.

I am grateful for:
- Family
- Health
- Employment

Lunch Run

Not a trip to get food for lunch. I am thinking about 30 to 45 minutes of outdoor running in the middle of the day, three seasons (not summer) of the year, in Cleveland and now Milwaukee.

I have this image of my fellow office types off to do an errand or two on their lunch hour and coming across me 2 miles from the office, them in their car, me in my running duds, thinking to themselves that Rick must be crazy. Of course I don't run to impress anyone, but if it happens, then ok with me.