ILOC inspires me

Ok, so I've been doing fairly well lately just because I've been doing all the workouts I plan to do.... even when I'd really rather be doing something else or doing nothing at all. I am going on and doing it knowing I'll be glad. So I rewarded myself yesterday. I bought a book called "The Non-runner's Marathon Trainer." While I hesitated on making the purchase (I hesitate with every purchase no matter how big or how small) because I really do not consider myself a "non-runner." Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I've been running pretty steadily for almost 4 years. Anyways, I went on and bought it and it's got some good content. While there are some sections I'm not all that interested in following (such as Run Without a Watch) there is still lots of things worth reading. The author talks about an ILOC. ILOC stands for Internal Locus of Control. This is basically something most of us have to train ourselves to inhabit. It means creating your own reality. For instance it's like you have been granted all the materials you need to build a brand new beautiful mansion for a house. You can choose to build a small shack without much to look at, or you can take what you were given and build a dream-home. Your destiny is up to you. While we may not be able to control some of the circumstances we are faced with, we can control how we react. So basically when you are training for a marathon, he recommends you adopt the ILOC state of mind. When you are on a long training run, know what to expect. When you start to hurt, welcome it. No pain, no gain. "Hello pain. I've been waiting for you. I knew you'd be here! Come and run with me!!" I totally believe in this ILOC theory. I've used it many times myself, whether on mile 12 of a half marathon or a steep climb on mile 53 of a metric.... trust me.... IT WORKS!

So, I had a really happy new year and an even better New Year's Day. I cooked for K and my parents. We had cubed steak, mashed potatos, fried okra, black eyed peas (my mom brought), and rolls. Wednesday morning I woke up and rode my trainer from 6am to 7am doing the mountain bike training dvd. Today it was time for another run. I decided last night I'd beat Mr Weather man and do a trail run instead of running on the road in 18 degrees. So at lunch, I headed out to the mountain bike trails and did a 5 mile run! Haven't trail run in almost a year - very tough. This trail is not a very smooth one.... I almost bit the dust 3 times. It was much warmer in the woods. My face was frozen but other than that... I was comfortable. 5 miles in 48:28 for a 9:41 pace. It was a nice change and there's something about being out in the woods. I always feel like little red riding hood or something. :-) Tomorrow is a rest day and TGIF!