Monday, November 4, 2013

Notes on real life



Today: 4 miles/some number of minutes

Speed training!  I forgot what running hard (for me, laugh at my pace if you will) is all about.

Good thing I chose to do this at the gym on the treadmill under the watchful eyes of the passively pressuring treadmill hawks.  I eat your aggression, treadwalkers, it keeps me going during a tough run!

I decided entirely randomly that this was a good workout for me today:
1 mi warm up
4 x (.5 mi at 6:50 or faster, .25 mi at 8:49)

And then the plan was for a 1 mile cool down but I had to run to the potty instead - what a speedy 0.05 mile!  For sure, the swampy sweat-humid gym treadmill’s most redeeming quality is potty proximity.

I’d forgotten what it was like to breathe hard and really exert during a running workout.  I hate it and yet I’m hooked.  I ordinarily roll along (yes, merrily) at my comfy pace with the occasional minor pick-up and I want to break myself of this nonsense habit.  Running around a happy carefree bunny is a good hobby for stress release and aerobic fitness maintenance but I want 2014 to bring some needed speed gains even if I spend the year-or most of it-in other parts of the world

Lately I’ve been feeling bum-da-bum-bum-bummed that I just can’t ever plan out future long races.  One of my current pastimes includes registering for races and then not being able to show up.  Yeah, I can gut out an ok-for-me 10K with a week’s notice but my schedule precludes me from registering early- and thus training properly-for longer races.  It’s part of the whole job thing, which I chose and love.  I worked hard to get here so ja of course I knew that the schedule was going to be crazy/full of surprises/uncertain.  So I blame me.  But still, whine I will.   

One year, I would just like to pick some races for the year, not pay exxxtreme late-reg prices, and train wisely.  I suppose that’s what retirement is for.  But as I get older the likelihood that my RUN ALL THE TIME WITHOUT ANY REAL THOUGHT philosophy will enable me to run fast and injury-free is increasingly remote.

My “speedwork” (would you like a snack with that hyperbole?) today is my first stab.  If only I had a coach and no job and sat at home all day hyperfocused on workouts, salad calories and feelings....oh wait no, then I’d be easily confused with the one million other small-time runningchroniclesbloggers…except they’re all a lot faster than I am :)

The uncertainty of 2014 sat on the far horizon for so long and now, well, whatever the encroaching future brings I want to be running faster in it.

I race this coming weekend in Las Cruces, NM.  Then 2 x Turkey Trots back in TX- races to commemorate that my months away from home draw to a close. 
 
Whaddya say about some weekend races with little training and new shoes?!  Why not??

***76 MIN to go.***

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