When I'm running as much as I am right now, I tend to dream about it often. Usually, these are not good dreams. Most often, I'm in some sort of race, and my legs feel like I'm trying to run through molasses. As it turns out, running through molasses is not easy, and I find that everybody starts to pass me, and I can't do anything about it. Suffice to say, those dreams are not pleasant.
Last night (or rather, this morning) was significantly different. I was running a 5k against a bunch of my college and high school teammates, and just felt good. We started out at a decent pace, one I'd never been able to keep before, and kept it about there for the first two miles as people began to drop off the back. At the beginning of mile three, I decided the pace was too slow, as there was still a group of 6 or 8 people in the lead group, and I took off. I put in a sprint for about 400 meters, and by the time I eased off (not by much) there was only one other person who still was with me.
After all that, I ended up losing by half a stride at the finish line. But still, it was a good dream. I distinctly remember running a 14:55, which is far better than I've done lately.
On a side note, it's November 10th today. I always like to mark this day, because 33 years ago today, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank with all hands on Lake Superior. As a northern Minnesota boy myself, I had a small obsession with this particular sinking as a kid. It was, and is, the largest boat ever to go down on the Great Lakes, and still a bit of a mystery. It's also the inspiration for the song "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot, and the Symphony "Ten November."
So here's to the Fitz, reminding us of the cruel nature of the Witch of November on Gitchee Gummi.
2 comments:
Thanks for the reminder about the Edmund Fitzgerald, easy to forget about it if you are not in MN. My brother and I were also slightly obsessed wit it as children.
As for the dreams... do you think you get training benefit out of the dreams? I mean, they say if you eat in a dream you can feel satisfied in real life...
I never thought of that. I would think it's good mental training. I never quit, even in the awful running dreams.
I guess the good ones help, too, since people always say "cultivate an attitude of success."
It'd be an interesting study, but I don't know how you'd really do it.
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