Double the fun

After sleeping off my mediocre race, I feel that my mentality has shifted.  It's happened before: that small switch in outlook that tints the world in new colors, ultimately throwing it both out of whack and into clarity.  Eventually, this novel perception wears off and things revert to a seemingly normal state, but that tiny alteration permanently remodels the way we live our lives.  As I fell asleep last night, I kept thinking about the way I had run my race.  For the most part, my splits were even and I felt comfortably strong.  This would be good in a workout, but it is not the way to run a race.  Complacency leaves no room for victory.  However... I have decided that in a mile race, while I will still run it as a race, I will regard it afterwards as a workout.  This means no guilt, self-deprecation, or wallowing in disappointment.  Traditionally I allow myself 24 hours after a race to feel either elation or depression, but in the midst of my limited time for moping, I had a realization.  Similar to what my coach said to me yesterday, and what my CC coach repeated all year, I must have a short memory.  My big revelation, however, is that I can choose an attitude for myself that shortens my memory and makes it work for my own benefit as opposed to dragging me down.  It sounds complicated, but here is my reasoning.  There are a couple of options for dealing with races. During the race, all bets are off.  However, especially for the mile, I have the ability to go into each race with a mindset of my choice.  I could decide that since it's an open JV race, it really doesn't mean much and I shouldn't try, but that's not who I am.  On the other hand, I am having trouble pushing myself to the brink life I did during CC.  My solution, since the mile is not my event of choice, is to use it in retrospect to shape my two mile.  This means examining how I felt during the race, the pace I was running, and committing it to memory.  Then I can assess if I could repeat that race for the second mile of a two mile.  Running a slightly faster mile will ultimately be helpful in my two mile.  Thus, while these miles are important, I can see them as training, while puts me in a better mental state concerning my season as a whole.  As my coach told me, I can't get fed up with training because I'm not seeing results.  This choice in how I regard my mile races will ultimately take the pressure I put on myself away from destructive self-criticism and put it towards achieving goals in the race I love.  To celebrate this, I made myself some cookies.  Here's the recipe, you really should try them.  They're great for celebrating a new outlook, but a new perspective isn't necessary to enjoy them!

Chocolate Brownie Cookies (Courtesy Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening, sugar, water and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and beat just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts if desired. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-9 minutes; do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.