I'm the type of runner who never really knows how far I'm going to run sometimes until I'm actually running. Am I spontaneous? Am I a poor planner? I like to think of myself as highly evolved, or at least my runs are. I head out the door with one distance in mind, but it could very well end up being something completely different. The change could be due to fatigue, boredom, pain, time constraints, bathroom emergency, you name it! I can be flexible. For example, you would think Sunday would be a perfect day to get in a long run. Unless, Sunday was the only day you could sleep in (meaning 9am). And you had to make pancakes for your children and other people's children who slept over. And you were pressured into going to church (
no offense, God). And you had to go Christmas shopping. I could go on and on with my excuses, but I won't (
because I just did). A long run evolved into a 1.12 mile run with my 7 year old son. At least I'm not breaking my streak.
Monday morning was cold. Lucky for me, I waited until all the kids were home from school. By then, it had warmed up. I went out at 3:45pm and felt great. My 3 mile run evolved into a 5 mile run.
And today? Today it snowed and it was also my oldest daughter's birthday. I put off running until dinner time. She joined me and we ran 2.3 miles in the wintry dark. It wasn't too cold, but the light blanket of snow and Christmas lights on many of the homes made for a festive little outing. The best part was when we came home, my daughter told me how great she felt afterwards. I explained endorphins to her. The Runner's High is reason enough to take up the sport. I may not have run as far as I should have, but I got to spend some quality one on one time with my first born. It was a great end to her birthday.
The "right" distance to run is the distance you ACTUALLY run! A rigid plan that doesn't get followed is less than useless; it causes guilt and anxiety, which makes it harder to get out there the next time - fear of failure is very often self-fulfilling. You are doing absolutely the correct thing, in my book, good for you!
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you very much! It's always nice to get positive feedback! :) My post evolved, too. I was originally going to write about my next marathon training cycle lurking right around the corner. This is when things get tricky as far as juggling and rearranging the schedule. Sigh.
DeleteA 2.3 mile run with your daughter in the fallen snow, under the glow of Christmas lights, is worth far more than any "long" run.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that educational graphic that clearly demonstrates that difference between neanderthals and modern man: heel striking vs mid-foot landing.
I know you go to the park with your kids a lot. It really is wonderful to be out there with them, right?
DeleteWhen we're doing our group run, remind me to ask you to check out whether or not I overpronate. I haven't a clue as to what's going on below my ankles.
My son and I have amazing experiences hiking the trails at Stillwell, Bethpage and Muttontown. He likes to challenge me on steep inclines and really technical terrain. When my daughter was running cross country we would do mile runs together and have the greatest talks. I'm trying to get her interested in restarting that.
DeleteI will let you know whether you over pronate. I couldn't tell at the race because your feet were moving too fast.
As long as you get the miles in overall, I find that the small variations day to day don't matter. Depending on how I feel, I swap out a tempo run for speed work or make other accommodations to make the running fit my lifestyle.
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