So, I've had a really great running week. Did 3 miles Tuesday, but it was hard and my legs felt dead. Was supposed to do 2 on Wednesday, but I decided to skip it and rest instead. Thursday I showed up really late to a running meetup that I joined, but I met the coach and did a little more than 3 miles outside in the dark (this reminded me how much less boring it is to run outside than on a treadmill). Felt good. I didn't time myself at all, so I have no idea how long it took me. Friday was a scheduled rest day. I felt pumped from Thursday night's run, and I was really tempted to run a few miles to make up for the unscheduled rest I took on Wednesday. However, I exercised my discipline, and did not do it. Today I did three on the treadmill . . . sort of a fartlekie thing like my treadmill runs usually are. Did a mile at an 11:00 pace in the middle and felt really strong. I felt so good, in fact, that I was tempted to do more, but I just said no ,and I hit the weights instead.
Which brings me to the topic I really want to write about today. Running is completely honest. There are no shortcuts, there is no cheating. The only way to get better is to get out there consistently and run. You can't really make up for missed time. You can't get anywhere going so far or so fast that you're out of commission for days or more.
What consistently means, of course will vary depending on your body and the type of training that works best for you. I find that I do best running about 4-5 days a week, With 2 or 3 being sort of medium distance, one being somewhat longer, and one somewhat shorter. There are a lot of training plans that pretty much give you that type of week. Though I've found that having a specific training plan is not a good thing for me. I feel too tied to it, and I end up not listening to my body, and running starts to feel more like a chore and less like fun.
There have been times where I had a really specific plan, and if I felt tired and took a day off, I'd go nuts to make up the mileage by the end of the week. This does not work. There is no cheating. If you're fit enough and feeling good, a week of this might not be too bad. But I tried to pick a plan that I thought I should be able to do, which was really a little too advanced for me. I'd run myself into the ground until I was forced to rest, then I do it twice as fast trying to make up what I missed. This does not work. At all.
I've had the most success when I give myself a general goal for weekly mileage. Right now, for example, I'd like to run between 13-16 miles each week. I run easier or harder depending on how I feel, and I'm giving myself the option of running either 4 or 5 days in a week. I'd prefer 5, but I'm maybe not quite there right now. I've learned the hard way that this is best way for me to run. It's based on the same ideas as a lot of formal training plans, but it's just the outline of a plan. It's the only way for me to not go too nuts about it. In most things, I operate in one of 3 modes: totally disengaged, laid back but paying attention, or psychotic. I'm doing better at sticking with option 2 most of the time, much better than I've ever done before. Who knows, maybe it's the meds.
Anyway, so far so good. Hopefully my 5k in February will be a little faster than the one in January, and hopefully I'll be able to up my mileage pretty regularly over the coming months. I'd like to be closer to 30 miles a week as I approach the half.
What about you? How do you cope with the desire to run farther and faster right now when you know it isn't the best thing for you in the long run?
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