Another few days of running in the books. My feet hurt, my legs are satisfyingly tired, and my body feels wonderfully used up. I have to say, it really does hurt so good. I've been working out pretty solidly since i was 14 yrs old. Freshman year I started boxing in the basement of a neighbors basement down the street, and I've never looked back. True, I've gone through periods of boredom and burn out...but I was never truly myself, unless I was pushing my body to it's limits. Not always responsibly either. I'm just as guilty of causing myself injury, as someone pushing me along the way. But through the years, I've learned to listen more and more to my body. Maybe not quite as much as I should yet, but I'm getting there.
   You don't want to admit to yourself that age plays a factor to your capabilities, but it does. It doesn't have to hinder you though, not if you listen to it and treat it right. Your body can still be capable of taking you places you wouldn't believe, if you give it the chance. Rest more if need be, eat a few more grams of oatmeal (yes i measure out my food, old habit), take a long, relaxing, hot bath. Go get yourself a massage, you deserve it. Your BODY deserves it. These are things I'm told at least. And yes, I do need to do them. Beast Mode needs a well oiled and well fueled vessel if it's expected to dominate. Even Beast Mode can't save you from injury.
   Nevertheless, Beast mode will help pull you through those tough times. When you wake up and it's hard to roll out of bed and lace up those shoes, when your body is trying to defy you because yes it's sore, but a good sore...you can still get that last dead lift in Beast Mode, you can get in those last few miles in Beast mode. Treat your body right, and it's damn near comic book heroic in Beast Mode...

WHAT...,WHY..., so we've hit on WHAT Beast Mode is. We've hit on WHY I run in Beast Mode...now on to the adventures of Beast Mode, or the conquests of Beast Mode if you will.

   Enter in SJ, SJ is another bad ass female that operates in Beast Mode. I'm MO, nice to meet you. Our next joint venture is Black Mountain Marathon, in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It's a trail marathon that's known to cross through rugged terrain in unpleasant weather, usually snow and ice. We hear it's going to get nasty out there...but leave no doubt, we plan on getting just as nasty right back. From here on out we'll share views from inside each our own animalistic minds, some solo thoughts and random mumblings. And some shared views by two very hardcore minds completely transitioned into Beast Mode.

   Some views will be ugly, primitive, and down right paleolithic, straight out of the caveman days.But when operating in Beast Mode, the primitive instincts take over. The softer side is buried deep within the mind, so you might as well hand us clubs. You don't deadlift more than your own body weight without Beast Mode. You don't mountain bike ominous trails without Beast Mode. You don't run 26.2 miles and maybe one day more, without Beast Mode...

   In Beast Mode there are NO limits, there is NO such thing as impossible, there is NO escape...once you've gone into Beast Mode, you're already past the point of NO return. Once your training is fully engaged in Beast Mode, there is NO going back...

WHY do I run in Beast Mode ???

Now that I've expressed MY definition of Beast Mode...I'll let you in on WHY I run in Beast Mode.

   Beast Mode is my form of training, it's a switch I flip when I want to conquer my next goal. I admit I have half-assed training days, or go through periods when I'm not as hard core about my workouts. Times when I go through the motions and I'm lacking in intensity, I feel burnout just like anyone else. But the moment my mind wraps around a goal or a conquest, that's it...the "switch" has been flipped and Beast Mode takes over. 

   Every action has a purpose, every run, every meal, every time I hit the weights, it's to obliterate that goal. With every physical movement, there's a method to my madness. I walk into the gym I joke, I say hi...but then the headphones go on, and everyone and everything fade away into the background. Beast Mode takes over. I drive to the trails picturing the mountain I'll be running, the iPod goes on, my feet take off, and Beast Mode takes over. It's not always right, but everything else becomes secondary. It's just me, the trails, and the goal. I focus my breathing into a rhythm, I match my stride to every breath, I match my speed to the beat of the music...and Beast Mode takes over. 

   I'm a predator stalking my prey, stalking the goal. I know when it's time to pounce, I don't need to run at the head of the pack..I stalk. I match my pace to my mood. Sometimes it's all out, sometimes it's just a steady flow. But nothing turns off Beast Mode, no matter where I finish or how long it takes...I WILL cross that finish line. And when unleashed, Beast Mode TAKES NO PRISONERS... 

MY definition of Beast Mode

Beast Mode : A hype, energetic, outgoing, wilding out state of mind ; When in a state of serious training or at a level of high effort. There it is, as defined by Urban Dictionary. As defined by me, Beast Mode is simply running. It's the running and the training for running. It's 4:30 in the morning, you run. You slept in and the roads are a little busier, you run. 19 degrees outside, So what ?, lace 'em up and you run. Beast Mode is a state of mind. I don't necessarily measure out my runs, I don't always try to beat my times anymore, I just make sure I run. I see a bunch of stairs, I run them. I know to go right means there's a steep hill, I go right anyway. I roll my ankle, I slow down, work it out...and then I run some more.  I fall (something I do uh-lot), I brush it off...and you guessed it, I run. I run 7 miles, I get on the bike and ride 10 miles. I have a shake and I lift. I shower, eat, and I go back for some more. Beast Mode is a state of mind. It's a stubbornness that no matter what people say I should do, I'm going to do what I know my body is capable of. I have pushed my body for years and it has yet to disappoint me. Maybe I have off days, 10 miles turns out to be only 6. Maybe I don't lift twice that day. Maybe my run is just a bike ride, elliptical, and treadmill incline. Beast Mode keeps me going. Beast Mode makes me get up that next morning and put in the work I missed from the day before. There is no quit in Beast Mode. No one can call you crazy or obsessed, no one needs to understand that you HAVE to run, you HAVE to workout when your in Beast Mode. I run on my own rules in Beast Mode. I push limits and break barriers in Beast Mode. I DO NOT BACK DOWN in Beast Mode. So whether it's a race, a daily run, or just jackin' some weight. Just know, I am UNSTOPPABLE in Beast Mode...