Running Faster, and Without Headphones

So lately I have been running without my headphones(I brought my music out with me on EVERY run, and that was just the way it was) and I've been trying to increase my speed. The trees are in full bloom around here and taking in the sights and sounds around me just seemed like a good idea. I've realized, though, that the music does help me go longer.  With the music I can get in that extra mile, but without it, I am spent.

I read a great book(over 500 pages - now that's a feat in itself for me!) and I thought about it during two of my last runs. The Art of Fielding is the book by the way, and it was great. Two of the main characters are really into baseball(they play college ball) and it's not a hobby, it's a lifestyle for them. It consumes them, and literally makes them who they are, changes their personality, or better yet, ingrains their personality traits even more into their brains, even the traits they may wish they didn't have.

Anyway, these two characters take practice to a whole new level, and everytime I wanted to run slower or for less time, I would tell myself, "Shwartz and Henry wouldn't just give up! Keep running, and go faster...because you know they would go til they puked, and you are nowhere near puking right now!" and that would be my reminder to myself that I could go on, I wasn't at the end. Funny how I've made these "characters" into real people, as though they are somehow a part of my life.

I have taken off a couple seconds from each mile, which is nice, and today's 9 miles didn't seem to "fatigue" me like it usually does...so that's a good sign as well.

Getting back to my book, there's an excerpt that I can't get out of my head, so I figured I would share it with all of you:
You told me once that a soul isn't something a person is born with but something that must be built, by effort and error, study and love. And you did that with more dedication than most, that work of building a soul - not for your own benefit but for the benefit of those who knew you.

I like that. I think someone needs to say that about me someday.  :) Happy running! Hope to see some of you at the Asbury Park marathon this coming weekend. I will be doing 13.1 miles, and I can't wait!