Mojo Risin’ December 22, 2009

I haven’t lost it. I am not going crazy. After Sunday’s run at the Lafayette Reservoir in the Bay Area, I needed something to boost my confidence. That run—and it’s hills—certainly got the best of me.

The day after Lafayette we returned to Modesto and I was determined to get out and run. I needed to get my mojo back. Despite the solitary, non-competitive nature of training, I still enjoy the challenge of recording my times. I use it as motivation to track my progress, while also adding an element of competition. So, in my weird and obsessive way, I felt that Lafayette had “beaten” me and I wanted to get back to it.

I picked a route that I had done back in November. It was a safe, flat trail that I was familiar with and all I needed was a decent time to feel good about my running again Luckily, I hit my goal and, using my disappointment from Lafayette as fuel, made a good time that I’m happy with.

Distance: 5.15 miles
Time: 41:00
Pace: 7:58 mile

So the run went well and I’ve got my confidence back. I can take solace in the fact that Lafayette was bad because of the unending, terrible hills. One day, I’m going to go back to Lafayette and run all over that trail with an iron foot. Hi-yah!

(Much to the chagrin of my friend Karen, who has been pushing me to run in the rain, it started pouring five minutes after I returned from the run. Like I tweeted to Karen, I’m not avoiding the rain, I promise!)