That little voice inside

Lately, I've been dealing with this little guy - he keeps telling me that there's no chance in hell (pun intended) that I'll be race ready for that race this summer. The one I really really really want to do. The one I've been dreaming of. The one I've had nightmares of. The one I don't even dare sharing, because I'm afraid that will jinx it. Three and a half months left to regain my sanity and confidence. All while this little guy keeps telling me that my training schedule sucks. Big time. Even though I'm following a known plan (well, at least I try - if my body lets me).

The little b*st*rd (sorry...) just won't listen when I tell him I'm training my butt off here. I do need some time to take care of my body, though. All he wants me to do is train train train. And run a zillion miles a week. Just when I decided to push the 'train hard, but do take some time to smell the flowers and hear the birds' button. That red caped mini makes me feel bad about myself. And let's face it. Even though I can't run a zillion miles a week, running zillion miles a week still wouldn't shut him up. It would never be enough. And yes, there are other runners out there - training for that race - that are logging many more miles a week. I know that, little monster. There's always someone out there that is way better prepared than you are / has logged more miles in training. I've learned to accept that (well, okay, I'm still working on that).

There we go again: how many 30 miles / 50K long runs should I do in training? How many 50-mile / 80K races should I do preparing for that race? Or would doing several 50-mile / 80K races be too much? How many miles should a back-to-back weekend hold? 50? Or more? Or less?

Okay, Zen...

I guess what I really need right now is another little monster telling me to relax, to chill out, to exhale. Or a Mojito. A Mojito might work too.