Psyched Out

This weekend I'll be running in the Susan Komen Race For The Cure 10K event. My boss actually challenged me to this race as a "tune-up" race before the marathon. He has been quite diligent in his training, and he will be trying to beat me here. He is a taller guy, and last year he was real bulky and muscular, but since the spring has been getting down to more of an endurance athlete's build to help his run times and to prepare for the Urbanathlon in October. We both raced in the Soldier Field 10-miler, the 13.1 half marathon, and the Chicago half marathon. I was ahead of him by about 6 minutes or so in the Chicago half marathon, the most recent race, and am confident I can stay ahead, especially since I have been ramping up my mileage to prep for the marathon. That said, I haven't been doing as much speed training, but I should still be good to go.

Over the past week or so, we've been getting competitive in the gym, exchanging stares and checking each other out. I gave him that gesture of pointing to my eyes then pointing at him as to say, "I'm watching you!" It has been fun, but I have to admit he has been doing his best to psych me out. Yesterday he came in and he asked me what I was down to, referring to my weight. "I don't know," I said, "150 give or take a pound or two." "You're looking a little heavier," he said, or something of that nature, and told me he had lost about 10 lbs. over the past 2 weeks. I do have to admit I've been tempted by the before-bed dried fruit as a sweet snack, and I haven't been watching the evening calories as much as I should, but I'm still pretty lean. I have to admit, I did work much harder on my cross-training workout, and did very well as far as my calorie discipline. So whatever he did, it's working. When I told him today that he was psyching me out, he said, "I don't know--sounds like you're psyching yourself out." Hmmm. Maybe. Is it bad, though? Sometimes we need an extra push from someone to "psych us out" of our perceived complacency. Always look to improve, especially on the disciplines that have gotten you so far. In this case, getting back into a solid routine of planned, rigorous workouts with optimal nutrition and precise nutrient timing. This spans into your workplace, too--what have you been lax on, and what could be tweaked and improved? Remember, even when we're driving straight we have to make those small steering adjustments to stay on the road. Keep making those adjustments, and keep moving forward! Have a great day, everyone, and thanks for reading!