Thursday, February 7, 2008

Running in Circles

February is definitely the hump month of Boston Marathon training. The weather is worst, with cold biting wind and icy roads. Mileage is ramping up so every week is a balancing act of building mileage, dropping pace time, dropping weight and avoiding injury.

Today's mid-week run was 6 miles, with freezing rain and sleet outside. Given the conditions, I went to my regular indoor track for 72 laps, which is more challenging mentally than physically. How I stay focused:


  • Count down the laps, rather than counting up. It's more motivating.
  • Whenever possible, use a lap counter rather than keeping it in your head.
  • If you keep it in your head, call out the correct lap at every turn. Losing count is all too easy - which is very frustrating.
  • Keep a tough enough pace so your mind can't fixate too much on the task at hand.


Last year, I once had to do 120 laps, or 10 miles. Once you're in the right mental groove, it feels like you could go on forever.

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