Your personal running journal

opportunities
Things I should have done differently
Interesting happenings:
Funny things
Strange things
Stories, right brain crazy thoughts
    Your morning pulse is a great guide of overstress
    Recording Morning Pulse – immediately upon waking (use the graph in the back of this journal)
As soon as you are conscious—but before you have thought much about anything – count your pulse rate for a minute. Record it before you forget. If you don’t have your journal by your bed, then keep a piece of paper handy – with a pen.
It is natural for there to be some fluctuations, based upon the time you wake up, how long you have been awake, etc. But after several weeks and months, these will balance themselves out. Try to catch the pulse at the instant that you are awake, before the shock of an alarm clock, thoughts of work stress, etc.
After two weeks or so of readings, you can establish a baseline morning pulse. Take out the top two high readings and then compute the average.
This will be your guide. If a morning check shows the rate to be 5% higher than your average, take an easy day. When it is 10% higher, and there is no reason for this (you woke up from an exciting dream, medication, infection, etc.) then your muscles may be tired indeed. Take the day off if you have a walk-run scheduled for that day – or walk.
If your pulse stays high for more than a week, call your doctor to see if there is a reason for this (medication, hormones, metabolic changes, infection, etc.). This is commonly due to overtraining or infection.
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JUST GETTING OUT THERE THREE TIMES A WEEK MEANS YOU’RE TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR HEALTH. WHEN YOU LEARN TO ENJOY THOSE THREE OUTINGS YOU’RE TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR ATTITUDE.

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A MARATHON BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP . . .
A LIFESTYLE CHANGE BEGINS WITH A VISION AND A SINGLE STEP.

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THE MOMENTUM OF ONE STEP LEADING TO ANOTHER IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE PACE.

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WHEN YOU BUILD A BALANCE OF PHYSICAL ENERGY, MENTAL FOCUS AND INSPIRATION YOU CAN OVERCOME ANYTHING THAT IS REALISTICALLY POSSIBLE . . . AND MANY OTHER THINGS WHICH MAY NOT SEEM POSSIBLE.

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BY EXERCISING THREE TIMES A WEEK, YOU ESTABLISH A PROCESS WHICH WILL BESTOW MORE BENEFITS THAN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO LIST.

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THE INSPIRATION FOR TODAY’S RUN IS WITHIN YOU.

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DON’T EVER UNDERESTIMATE THE INSPIRATIONAL VALUE OF AN ENERGY BAR AND A CUP OF COFFEE.

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A BODY ON THE COUCH WANTS TO REMAIN ON THE COUCH, BUT AS SOON AS YOU GET THAT BODY IN THE RUNNING MOTION IT WANTS TO KEEP RUNNING.

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SPEED IS MOSTLY FOR THE EGO . . .
BUT THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH A WEEKLY EGO BOOST.

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INSIDE YOU RIGHT NOW ARE THOUSANDS OF POCKETS OF CREATIVE THOUGHTS AND INSPIRATIONS. PUT ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF ANOTHER AND THEY’LL START OOZING OUT.

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YOU MUST PROVIDE THAT 1% MENTAL PUSH TO GET YOUR FEET MOVING – AND YOU’LL RECEIVE 99% ENERGY RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT.

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ONCE YOU PUT A TRICKLE OF ENERGY TO GET YOURSELF RUNNING, YOU START A RIVER OF INSPIRATION
WHICH CAN PULL YOU THROUGH DIFFICULTY.

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IT’S ALWAYS BEST TO START OUT SLOWLY.
BUT OCCASIONALLY IT’S OKAY TO GET OUT THERE AND KICK BUTT!

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EACH TIME YOU PUSH THROUGH A DISCOMFORT BARRIER YOU MAKE IT EASIER TO DO IT NEXT TIME.

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AN ATHLETE SAYS ”GO“ WHEN THE LEFT BRAIN SAYS ”NO.“

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IF YOU START EACH RUN SLOWLY ENOUGH,
ALMOST EVERY RUN CAN LEAVE YOU FEELING INVIGORATED.

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YOU BECOME AN ATHLETE WHEN A PHYSICAL CHALLENGE BECOMES A MENTAL CHALLENGE AND YOU KEEP GOING UNTIL YOU BREAK THROUGH IT.

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DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE RELAXING POWER OF 45 MINUTES WORTH OF ENDORPHINS.

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MAKE A TINY BIT OF FUN IN EACH RUN AND YOUR MOTIVATION WILL GROW.

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THE FIRST 15 MINUTES OF EVERY RUN ARE A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM. SLOW DOWN, GET THROUGH IT AND YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY.

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THE FASTER YOU RUN AT THE START, THE GREATER THE CHANCE OF A NEGATIVE FEELING AT THE END.

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WHEN I FINISH A RUN, EVERY PART OF ME IS SMILING.

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THE GLOW, AFTER A MORNING RUN, MAKES ME FEEL CLEAN ALL DAY.

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A SLOW RUN AT THE END OF THE DAY WILL DISCONNECT YOU FROM THE NEGATIVE AND ENERGIZE THE POSITIVE.

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RUNNING FOR 45 MINUTES OR MORE HELPS TO ”FORMAT“ YOUR BRAIN. AFTERWARDS YOU’RE BETTER PREPARED TO DEAL WITH STRESS, MANAGE CONFLICT, AND ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGES WITH CREATIVITY AND ENERGY.

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A SLOW