The next one

Exploring the mind-body connection has been a fascinating experience so far, not just in my personal sample size of one but in other people too. Humans respond so easily to ideas and words if they manage to penetrate their thoughts.

So far, my interest has been to use thoughts/ideas to create habits and change the context in which I perform actions so as to make it easier for me to stick to changes. Joining a team, getting a good hydration pack which will also hold my stuff while on a long run, having multiple alarms etc were ways to ensure that I did not have to rely too much on my willpower alone.

This has worked very well so far...except in the last training season. I had to scale back to a half marathon from a full one because I didn't put in the time and effort needed to train properly for the latter. It was easy to justify this with the fact of increased work, some boredom with running and overall life issues, but justifications don't get you to the finish line.

With the move to an invigorating new city though, things seem to be looking up.

The full-time work is still around and in fact more time consuming, but the context in which I live has changed. I haven't joined a running team here yet, but the city is full of runners and amazingly active people. Whether it is the workplace or my residential area, there is always someone breezing past. Something about watching fit and athletic people do something well makes you want to shed off your inertia. So while after the half marathon I dabbled in weight training and biking and a few odd exercises (kayaking! seven minute workout! yoga!); running is calling me back. And I've given in to the call. Re-experiencing the primal joy of running is different than the good soreness you feel after lifting weights. Plus the best way to explore a city is on foot.

I've managed to put on the miles sporadically in the past month or so and am feeling confident enough to dive into systematic training for the next big 'un. I also switched to thin soled 'barefoot' shoes last month, so it worked out well that I broke into them slowly rather than starting the training with them. I feel my speed has improved, but will need to accumulate data on this before I can be sure.

However, this time I don't have the support/context of a team. So this is where willpower will have to kick in. I will cheat a bit though - I've already set up an accountability system with a buddy in the former city who also needs someone to push him a bit for his workouts. So far, the going has been great.

I have some pleasant memories of logging the training progress for my first marathon. I'd like to repeat that here. This is especially useful for the solitary long runs, which are refreshing yet paradoxically exhausting both mentally and physically.

So here's to a full marathon in Fall (or earlier).