Again and again

I have talked about consistency before. Once I find something that works I tend to stick with it. This applies all throughout my life. I occasionally will make a decision about mixing things up a little that surprises friends and family but it does not happen all that often. And, more often than not, even if give consideration to a big change, I tend to stick with what I know when all is said and done.

Consistency in running is about benefitting from doing the same thing over and over again to get a feel for what it means. For many training for a marathon mile repeats are either the most hated or most loved workout. This can even change from day to day for a given runner. THey are a tough track workout. But they give a person a feel for running a consistency pace.

Yesterday, I did my best mile repeat workout ever. Five 1 mile runs, alone, on the Towson high track. When rounded to the nearest second and taking the times to go around four laps (sometimes avoiding other runners) the times were

6:28
6:27
6:26
6:27
6:26

That is what I call consistency. It brought me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction and the feeling that I can do what I set my mind to and keep doing it. Tee later ones felt a little harder, but they all added up. I hope to continue to achieve consistency and use it to build mental toughness. Sometimes just knowing that you have proven your ability to do something repeatedly is more than half the battle to actually doing it--again, and again, and again.