A Small Rule is Better Than No Rule

So yesterday I ran just under 8.25 miles. I have been increasing the length of my runs by 30-50% since I had the cable hooked up. I enjoy treadmill running because it takes away all the guesswork and gives me that solitude I enjoy. I realized yesterday that my legs never not tired because I failed to run long enough. It felt familiar to have some tiredness join me on my run. I also came to the knowledge that mental fortitude is the real obstacle in training. It is not the pushing through the painful or uncomfortable parts in fact those parts of running are often what pushes us harder. Rather it's the boredom. I guess that means I'm boring even to myself.

I had almost given up on my monthly mileage goal because I was missing some regular runs because of all the remodeling going on at home. Then yesterday I realized I was half way to my goal and I still have two weeks of running. I then started crunching numbers and realized with a few strong runs like 3 a week I can meet my mileage goal. Never underestimate the impact of small amounts of effort or occasional bursts in performance. They all add up. Too often we tend to write off small tasks as insignificant not appreciating they are the foundation of greater effort and are the training arena where the work really gets done. They serve to motivate as something even the smallest thing is getting done. Too often we abstain from doing anything hiding behind some egotism and false sense of perfection and attention to detail. Just get it done.