Questioning . . . (R)
One Day at a Time
I wrote this entry before work but I am just now posting it, after midnight Saturday night (Sunday morning, technically). So, most of you probably won’t read it until sometime Sunday but just keep in mind, to understand what’s happening when and why I use certain tenses the way I do, it’s because it was originally written AFTER my run on Saturday, but BEFORE I went into work (so sometime between 1 and 2 PM on Saturday). I was in a hurry to get ready for work, so when my internet went out briefly, I didn’t have the time nor the ability to post it.
I’m going to keep bringing this up . . . this training plan makes no sense to me. I’m afraid I’m going to have trouble running my 7mile long run tomorrow (Sunday). Why? For the last three days I have only run 3 milers, or nothing. I know it’s good to have rest going into a long run, but I think this is too much. I’m not going to have enough conditioning left by tomorrow evening, lol. I already felt very tired during this run since I didn’t run yesterday. It’s amazing how that happens. That’s the cardio though. I think once you build to a certain level of cardio, your heart/breathing becomes very resilient and can take much abuse day after day. In fact, it’s better for cardio conditioning to run/exercise daily, IMO. Seems like one day off make me feel sluggish when I start back. But I know the off days are needed, and the easy days, mainly for muscle recovery. The leg muscles would probably work ideally on an every other day schedule. Or maybe it’s a whole warm-up issue. In today’s run, I would have felt just fine after about the first mile if I had just settled into an easy pace but I kept trying to push it, and all this not to mention the hills in this particular route. Yeah, I think that’s got to be it . . . after one day off, perhaps I don’t lose conditioning so much as I just require more warm up time (since I’ve been "cold" for the last day or two).
Having said all this, I fully intend to keep following the training plan. I have to trust it, you know, or trust the people that put it together, as it were. The people at coolrunning.com know a lot more about running than I do. But then again they really don’t know where I’m at in my conditioning/abilities. Only I can determine that for myself.
Tomorrow’s run will be at a slower pace since it’s a long run, so I will probably do fine. Also, I’m sure today’s run helped in a small way to get me sort of in the swing of things and "warmed up" again after yesterday’s off day.
It will be cold. I’m determined to do this thing right after work tomorrow (I get off at 7PM). It will be after dark, but that’s been done plenty of times before. Just not recently. I would do it before work, just get my ass up at 7:30 AM and do it (since it’s an hour run), but I’m working 3PM – 12AM tonight, so that’s probably a fail, since I know I won’t go to bed right when I get home. I’d like to be able to sleep right up until 9AM tomorrow (work 10AM – 7PM), which I can do if I put off the run. Running right after work (which I do more of in the summer since it’s warmer in the evenings and longer daylight) has always worked pretty well for me. Work prepares me for a run. I’m on my feet all day and moving around. It’s the perfect amount of light activity on your feet that gets the blood flowing, stretches leg muscles, warms up muscles, etc. Also, my meal break is perfect timing for eating before a run (it’s about 4 hours before the run, which gives my digestion plenty of time to settle). Something about just being active all day, it’s easier to make that choice to run. When I first wake up in the morning, I’m just sluggish.
-AR
See Route
3.04 miles (4.89 km) through Millbrook, Amelia Landing, and Grenelefe. Start time approximately 12:45 PM EST on 02/12/2011. Total run time 25:29. Pace 8:23. Weather Conditions: Clear/Sunny, 53F/12C, Dew Point 19F, Humidity 27%, Winds W 9mph, 30.29inHg/1025.7mbar and steady.