Good Enough is the Enemy of Excellence

It is such a motivational cliche and one that I generally don't put much stock in - if anything, I think in most efforts striving for the best often gets in the way off accomplishing the good. But when it comes to running, it certainly seems that good enough is my worst enemy.

I was pleased with my time for the Maritime Days 5K. Very pleased.

But what do I do with that contentment?

I slack off, of course!

I almost wish I'd posted a lousy time, if only because that would have been a wake-up call to snap me out of my "when I feel like it" approach to running. But a good time only serves to reinforce the "good enough" mentality.

Intellectually, I know I need to train more often. Not just to improve my times but also to improve my endurance - we are building up to a longer race, after all! - and to really cement the habit of running regularly.

But still I find myself making excuses.

It has been a long day. Every day is right now, with football practice starting at the crack of dawn for my oldest. But long is not the same as hard or tiring, and getting up with the sun means I have plenty of time to go for a run before the other kids even roll out of bed.

It is hot/cold/raining. Probably my worst cop-out, because we've had an absolutely lovely summer. Maybe a bit on the cool side, but for running cool is better than hot anyway.

I just don't feel like it. Well, at least that one is honest. We're in the middle of yet another stressful financial/career transition on top of a busier-than-usual summer, and my motivation and focus are just about shot. But exercise inevitably improves my mood and lowers my stress level.

I did go out for a run today, only my second in the two weeks since our last race. It was a perfect morning for it, not too warm, not a cloud in the sky, and very quiet in our little town that early on a Saturday morning.

As I ran, I found myself thinking about my stumbling blocks. 

The one that seems to really be dragging at me right now is money... My husband is quite unexpectedly back in business for himself, thanks to two layoffs in a row and a lack of solid full-time opportunities around here, so money is tight. Tight enough that I've had to pass on our second planned race for this month because I couldn't responsibly spend the $60 to register for it in the midst of all the back-to-school expenses and as we adapt to an unsteady cash flow once again. 

To make matters worse, our RunDisney dream is on hold indefinitely. With no ability to forecast our income, I didn't feel like I could register for either of the races we were interested in and they've both sold out now so even if the job situation improves there's no making it happen before my annual pass expires. 

I think the disappointment of having the "carrot" that started this journey so completely out of reach at the moment is messing with my head more than any other single factor. 

But my daughter doesn't seem to care - she's found other races she's far more interested in than anything RunDisney has to offer. She wants to do a color run, a glow run, a zombie run. She wants us to walk the Mackinac Bridge next year on my birthday. And she's making noise about the scariest run I can think of - the Detroit International Half-Marathon, which crosses into Canada through the tunnel under the Detroit river... A tunnel I don't even like to drive! Fortunately I have four years to prep for that one because she's not old enough just yet. 

Her interest in running has taken on a life of its own. She's even challenged my husband to start getting out there with us. 

So I have to find myself a new carrot and run on. 

15:36

Today was cold. It was windy. It certainly didn't look anything like spring. But I stuck to my guns. No excuses.

My ankle and foot are still a bit sore, so I didn't want to push myself too hard or too far today.

I know when I start a workout in Zombies, Run! I absolutely despise not finishing. In fact, I've only done it once and only because my 4yo decided to have a total meltdown mid-run that necessitated an immediate return home. And once she was settled into her bed I left her in my husband's care and went right back out to finish what I started. So in the interests of listening to my body and taking it easy on my still-healing foot and legs I decided to skip running from the zombies for a day and go for a more free form walk/run instead.

I hit the track with one goal: to cover 5K in distance. No worries about pace or time and every intention of slowing down or even taking a break if I started hurting.

Not only did I cover that 5K without a break, I did it in a pretty solid time for me - 15 minutes, 36 seconds per mile on average.

For the first mile, I really didn't think I was going to make it. My ankle just isn't flexing normally yet and I had a hard time finding a comfortable stride. At the one mile mark I decided I'd just shoot for half the distance - 6 laps instead of 12.5. But by the time I hit that 6th lap I'd gotten into a pretty good routine, running 100 meters each lap and walking the other 300m. And before I knew it I was done, in just a hair over 50 minutes.

It isn't going to win any races but a 15 minute mile pace, sustained over the entire 3.1 mile distance, is my first major training goal. The minimum pacing requirement for Disney's 5K events as well as for several local races I am interested in is 16 minutes per mile, so training to 15 minute miles should give me enough of a cushion to work in water breaks and tying shoes and any other brief stops that might come up mid-race.

As I run more and walk less I'll obviously have to set a more lofty goal, but for a 200+ pound woman who is new to this whole running thing, 15 minutes per mile seemed a good place to start. And to be so close to that goal so early in my training is a real thrill!

Zombies!

Twice I have started the Couch to 5K program, and twice I've dropped out. The first time I did it the old fashioned way, with my watch as a timer, because that was the best tech I had at the time. The second time, I tried the C25K Free app for my shiny new Android phone. But still I lost interest by week two or three.

Over this past winter I didn't walk or run. I hate the winter and I have that whole "not coordinated enough for land sports" thing working against me when it comes to running on ice and snow. Between the cold and my conviction that I'd somehow fall and break my neck, it was easy enough to make excuses and stick to half-hearted indoor workout sessions on the Wii.

Now spring is starting to peek in, tentatively and a little overdue but enough to banish the snow and ice and with them my excuses. So I've started training outside again. And just like the past two springs, I started thinking about the Couch to 5K program and setting race goals to keep me motivated.

Then I stumbled across a message board post - DisBoards to the rescue again! - about an app I knew I just had to try: Zombies, Run! 5K. It is the same basic idea as C25K - interval training to develop both speed and endurance - but it has a zombie apocalypse storyline that makes the time pass far more quickly and an internet game connected to the app that I can't wait to get further into.

I'm only through the first week so far but I can already say that I like it so much better than any other C25K-type program I've tried in the past. I actually look forward to each 'mission'. It even makes something I used to consider an annoyance - the fact that I often can't get out for a workout until the kids are in bed - into something I look forward to. There's something about running at night, on an unlit track, with only the sounds of your own footfalls and the frogs in the ditches, that fits perfectly with a training program that has zombies moaning through your headphones.

Oh, did I mention that something I love just as much as I love Disney is post-apocalyptic fiction? Or that I'm absolutely enthralled by The Walking Dead at the moment? No? Well, I do, I am, and that's probably why this app is such a perfect tool.

Today was supposed to be an off day for me, but I was feeling okay, not too sore and very well rested since it is the first day of spring break so I didn't have to get up early to haul kids to school. So I went out to do the final workout of week one around 10pm. My 11 year old joined me, which was really cute because she is using the same app but found it too creepy at night. She put on a playlist and followed my lead for the interval timing! Together we only covered a hair over two miles, quite a bit less than the four I logged on my own yesterday, but it was still a good workout.

I can't wait to see what my next mission brings. Week two is when I get to start collecting supplies to use in the online world-building aspect of the game.