This mural is called Little Miss Sisyphus and it was painted by Carrie Jadus a few years ago. I have passed this mural verging on a hundred times and I’m a little inspired by it every time. One, because it astounds me that someone can paint an image like this. Two, because it’s almost unfathomable to think about painting an image on this large of a scale. Third, it’s inspiring because of what it is. Often, I feel like I’m working hard for incremental gain. Often, I’m discouraged because it feels like I’m starting again from scratch. And often, I feel like giving up. All these “oftens” apply to my current job search and running, so I can relate to the Sisyphus story. Also, it is super cool that the man is replaced by a young girl. That fits the historic, and current state of things.
Today was another hard day. It’s just so hot outside, I think I’m going to have to start going to bed early and waking up early every day. Or, run/walk everything. I don’t want to do that, though. Continuous runs keep my fitness level where it needs to be, I think. If I need to be able to pick up the pace late in an ultra, I think those continuous runs will serve me well. And I need to get into some speedwork and some strength training again. I haven’t done a push up in 2 weeks! Both of those things will improve my fitness. Overall, today was 8 miles at 10:43 pace. Big painful cramp in my right side at mile 5. I walked it off and ran really slowly the rest of the way.
Gear: Altra Instinct 2.5, Apple watch, Airpods, iPhone (I had to take a photo, so…)
I got through the boring part of the week. Tomorrow I get to run faster and see how much I want it. I have to redeem myself for last Friday.
runjournal 