Mantra Monday

I had difficulty falling asleep last night. It shouldn't have been an issue; I was exhausted! But my legs were so tingly and achy from running, I just couldn't settle down. After what seemed like two hours of just laying there waiting for sleep to hit me, I found the book my husband has been reading lately. It's called Learn to Relax: A Practical Guide to Easing Tension and Conquering Stress.

The book automatically opened to an exercise on muscle release called the Dissolved Body. I remember something like this from when I religiously went to yoga. I went through the process and then fell asleep. It was a perfectly relaxing sleep (with the exception of my son creeping into our room and crawling into his sleeping bag-- he's been having some issues lately with being afraid at night). I plan on trying this again tonight, but thought it might be particularly nice for runners. Forgive me for copyright infringement (I'm an English teacher. I know better!)... but hopefully you'll love this so much you'll go purchase a copy. :)

1. Lie comfortably in a warm room with your eyes closed. Allow your body and mind to slow down for a minute or two, by remaining still and quiet.

2. Keeping your eyes closed, take your attention to the toes of one foot. Clench the toes tightly for about five seconds and then relax them. Do this two more times. As you clench and relax in this way, imagine your toes turning to liquid, which gently flows around you. Now clench and relax the other foot, turning that to fluid in the same way.

3. Continue to work up your body, tensing and releasing. Do your shins, then your thighs, buttocks, stomach, chest, back, hands, forearms, upper arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, cheeks, eyes, and brow.

4. Your whole body should now be free to flow. You visualize this while keeping your attention on the center of your forehead.

5. Now try to tense and relax the movement in your mind: let your thoughts float to the surface and watch them dissolve and flow away.

Mantra Monday and Running on Long Island

I'm back from Long Island after a beautiful wedding. I know I missed Foodie Friday, so maybe anyone who is reading might think I'm slacker. I assure you it wasn't intentional; I was just having too much fun! Friday is my favorite day of the week during training-- it's the day I get to eat extra carbs (yummy!). Once we made it to Long Island after the long drive up, my best friend Marianne and I found an awesome Mexican restaurant for dinner Friday night. I had chicken with fresh mango salsa and sweet plantains with a side of rice. It was delicious! I also had two large glasses of peach and watermelon sangria, which was a bit of a mistake since I had to get up and run in the morning. I should have been more concerned with hydrating myself. But I was on a little vacation and having a great time.

The wedding was at 11:30 on Saturday and I knew I needed to do 6 miles before that. My plan was to get up at 7 a.m. and get my run on. The problem was I stayed up until 2 a.m. because I was having such a great time visiting with old friends. I was laughing so hard, I totally lost track of time (although my friend Mike said I kept repeating "After this water, I'm going to bed" for at least 2 hours). I rationalized with myself that on race days I get far less sleep because I'm so nervous and that 5 hours of sleep was better than none.

Sleep was hard to come by that night. I woke up at 4:45 to an alarm going off in our room. It went off every 10 minutes for about an hour until we figured out how to turn it off. After that, I woke up a few more times before 7. At 7, the alarm went off again, and I felt my body beg me to go back to sleep. But I ignored my body's request and I got up. I put on my running gear, and walked out the door.

It was beautiful outside, a perfect day for a run. The air was cool with no humidity and there was a faint smell of salty water, both of which were such a nice treat after running in Baltimore all summer. The sky was clear and a brilliant blue, perfect for the wedding later that day. But after my lack of sleep, I didn't feel much like running. Thankfully, I had company. My friend Ursula and I went back and forth between walking and jogging for almost 3 miles. After that, we went inside to the hotel's gym and I finished with just running, but I didn't make it to 6 miles, only 5. However, I'm pretty happy I did anything given how tired I was and the fact that I was pressed for time. I honestly think I made up for the 1 mile I didn't do with the amount of dancing I did later that day, anyway. But I realized that even though I was a little tired, the run didn't kill me. I felt more confident and positive after running (and I didn't feel guilty for drinking a few light beers at the reception).

At the reception, I thoroughly enjoyed myself-- from watching the loving couple, to being with friends, the day was all about love. Here's a pic of the newlyweds... so cute!

So now that I'm back, it's back to the routine. Today I will add an extra mile to my run to make up for the one I didn't do Saturday. I need to kick it into high gear as there are only 9 weeks until the Baltimore Half Marathon. I will do my extra mile with this mantra in mind, "N-n-now that that don't kill me/can only make me stronger./I need you to hurry up now/cause I can't wait much longer." It's from one of my favorite running songs, "Stronger" by Kanye West. It will keep me going, and hopefully help me to pick up my pace.

What is your running mantra or what do you repeat to yourself to help you get through a run (or for those that don't run, what's your mantra to get through something when you need a little more pep)?

Happy Monday!