I've been doing some shorter runs lately, so I thought I should get in a longer 6 mile run. One goal I've been shooting for in the back of my mind is finishing this 6 mile route in less than 50 minutes. Today I finally did it. I was hovering around the 50 minute mark all summer. Sometimes I'd come close to 50 minutes other times I'd hit it at about 53-55 minutes.
6 Mile Run
Avg HR 163 bpm
Peak HR 184 bpm
Min HR 84 bpm
Total Cal: 860
Time: 49:25
2 minute Recovery
173-134 bpm
I don't think I was running a lot faster for most of the run, but I did try a different mental approach when attacking the hills. On the route there is a fairly steep .25 mile hill and a very steep .5 mile hill. Each hill is definitely a chore and the least fun part of the run. After reading an article about climbing hills in Bicycling I decided to apply the same mental approach to running. I concentrated on thinking light thoughts, and more specifically a rabbit. I've always identified with the rabbit, and even though I don't think of myself as spiritual I think of it as my "power animal". Part of it goes back to childhood and the rabbits in the field at my grandparents. Another part is how I view them. They are not very physically imposing, but are quick and have powerful rear legs.
A little deeper look into the rabbit as a power animal actually reveals that it is quite apt for other reasons. According to one website:
"In many Native American traditions Rabbit is named the Fear Caller. It is believed that it shouts out its fear of the predators who rank it high on their dining list so loudly that it attracts them, and thus brings that which it fears into being.
If we look at this idea with deeper understanding we see how well Rabbit teaches us that we create our lives with our thoughts and feelings. Rabbit experiences fear, projects it outward, and creates in the external world conditions which mirror its inner terrors."
That is so incredibly fitting on so many different levels, besides running and bicycling. I'll have to give it some more thought.
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