Energy and desire
I'm feeling strangely energised at the moment. I don't know whether it's eating better or running with company, but I'm really enthusiastic about my exercise again. I had a great run with the running club on Monday evening, outrunning a couple of people who were faster than me last week, and I even managed a hill I'd never dreamt I'd be able to run up (I've driven it before, but never run it). We have the option of doing the Leeds half marathon route tomorrow (or a shorter run if not), and I'm not trying to find an excuse to get out of it, I'm up for it. I'm doing 2 workouts some days (gentle swimming before work, and running afterwards), and I'm feeling much better about myself and my running than I have done for a while.
It sounds strange, but I almost regret doing Berlin. I don't regret the fact that I've done a marathon, and no-one can take Berlin away from me, but I do think that I rushed into it too soon, and without enough of a running base to cope with it. I got round, and I'm glad I did it, but would I have found the whole experience more enjoyable if I'd waited a while longer? I got a bit carried away with my rush towards doing ever longer and longer races. In spring I was enjoying my running, and getting faster all the time. I then focussed on distance, struggled, and lost a lot of the speed I'd acquired over winter.
Marathon training was just a bit mechanical and structured. There was no time when I could just get out of bed, see what I fancied doing, and just run. I always had to push myself to get in those extra couple of miles over what I actually felt like doing. Because I was at the top end of my comfort zone, it always felt like hard work. There were no really easy runs to help me recover, because even the short ones were pretty long compared to what I was used to doing. I was trying to run too fast, too. There were occasional moments of enjoyment, but there was a lot of hard slog.
I couldn't dream of a 47 minute 10k at the moment, which is what I managed in April, but I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, and believing that I can get back into that sort of shape again.
This weekend, I just went out with no clear idea of where I was going or for how long, and I just ran for the fun of it. On Saturday I ran for longer than I expected, because I got to the lake and it was a beautiful morning and the lake looked amazing, so I ran round it. On Sunday I did a shorter run, because it was colder than it looked outside, and my legs were getting cold in shorts. Both days I modified my route on the way round a couple of times, taking bits away, adding bits, according to how I felt at the precise moment. At running club I know that I can run at whatever pace I feel like, because there are always people faster to chase, or slower to recover with. I can cover the distance having a leisurely chat, or I can really go for it. Or I can go for a mixture of the two on different legs of the run. There's usually a group which heads back early too, if I want a shorter run, and you only need to decide after the first mile or two.
At the moment I have a vague weekly target of 20 - 25 miles, but I'm not too fussy about how I hit that. I run because I want to run, and I have time to swim, and do weights, and mix my exercise up far more than I did over summer. It's nice having that freedom
Apparently if I've got into FLM I should know on Friday, because that's when the cheques usually clear if you've got in through the ballot. But, heresy of heresies, I'm almost wondering whether I'd be better off not doing a spring marathon next year, and waiting until autumn, or even until the year after. I suspect that if I do get in, I'll go through with it rather than deferring until 2008, but I'm not convinced that would be the best thing for my running. Ah well, it's pretty unlikely that I'll get in anyway.
It sounds strange, but I almost regret doing Berlin. I don't regret the fact that I've done a marathon, and no-one can take Berlin away from me, but I do think that I rushed into it too soon, and without enough of a running base to cope with it. I got round, and I'm glad I did it, but would I have found the whole experience more enjoyable if I'd waited a while longer? I got a bit carried away with my rush towards doing ever longer and longer races. In spring I was enjoying my running, and getting faster all the time. I then focussed on distance, struggled, and lost a lot of the speed I'd acquired over winter.
Marathon training was just a bit mechanical and structured. There was no time when I could just get out of bed, see what I fancied doing, and just run. I always had to push myself to get in those extra couple of miles over what I actually felt like doing. Because I was at the top end of my comfort zone, it always felt like hard work. There were no really easy runs to help me recover, because even the short ones were pretty long compared to what I was used to doing. I was trying to run too fast, too. There were occasional moments of enjoyment, but there was a lot of hard slog.
I couldn't dream of a 47 minute 10k at the moment, which is what I managed in April, but I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, and believing that I can get back into that sort of shape again.
This weekend, I just went out with no clear idea of where I was going or for how long, and I just ran for the fun of it. On Saturday I ran for longer than I expected, because I got to the lake and it was a beautiful morning and the lake looked amazing, so I ran round it. On Sunday I did a shorter run, because it was colder than it looked outside, and my legs were getting cold in shorts. Both days I modified my route on the way round a couple of times, taking bits away, adding bits, according to how I felt at the precise moment. At running club I know that I can run at whatever pace I feel like, because there are always people faster to chase, or slower to recover with. I can cover the distance having a leisurely chat, or I can really go for it. Or I can go for a mixture of the two on different legs of the run. There's usually a group which heads back early too, if I want a shorter run, and you only need to decide after the first mile or two.
At the moment I have a vague weekly target of 20 - 25 miles, but I'm not too fussy about how I hit that. I run because I want to run, and I have time to swim, and do weights, and mix my exercise up far more than I did over summer. It's nice having that freedom
Apparently if I've got into FLM I should know on Friday, because that's when the cheques usually clear if you've got in through the ballot. But, heresy of heresies, I'm almost wondering whether I'd be better off not doing a spring marathon next year, and waiting until autumn, or even until the year after. I suspect that if I do get in, I'll go through with it rather than deferring until 2008, but I'm not convinced that would be the best thing for my running. Ah well, it's pretty unlikely that I'll get in anyway.
posted by YP at 7:25 PM
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