I actually ran four times in the last seven days! That means I've hit another post-surgery milestone - the highest weekly mileage I've seen in over a year!
Sunday, Elizabeth and I ran an easy 2.5 miles around the golf course. I was thinking about how nice it felt to have a quality running week under my belt. Summertime is always weird for running schedules - I'm rarely training for anything and I can't keep track of the days of the week, so my consistency suffers. This past week, I tried to fix that by running every-other-day, and that really seemed to work.
Anyway, as we finished the run and I was basking in my accomplishment, I began to wonder if it's time for me to start running with more purpose. Obviously I know my body is ready for it, and I'm actually surprised how soon it feels that way.
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| I couldn't resist. |
I know it's been a long time since surgery and even longer since I had to stop running entirely due to my calves, but in the grand scheme of things, I've bounced back really quickly.
Part of me is loving the freedom of running when I feel like it without any prescribed runs. I'm not craving speedwork or consistent long runs or anything like that. I feel much like I did when I very first started running, when every run was a victory and I didn't need bells and whistles (or goals) to make running worth it.
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| Still just overjoyed to be out there. |
Another part of me is frustrated with this sort of plateau I've let myself settle on. I know I can be ratcheting up the intensity of my runs and building in some bridges, speed work, and long runs. I have a desire to get back to where I was before compartment syndrome interrupted my life. I want to eventually exceed where I was. That means I can't let myself just do
whatever for the foreseeable future.
Can I?
I wrote awhile ago about starting long runs again this summer, and that's still something I want to do, but it also doesn't feel urgent. I have been building mileage, but I haven't been moved to run a consistent long run each week.
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| I have gotten up to 5 miles, though, and that feels long to me! |
Basically I am stuck in two states of mind right now. I think the disconnect stems from the season. I really don't like
training during summertime - there are too many interruptions, the weather stinks, and my sleeping schedule is all over the place. Maybe that's the bottomline, then, and the solution:
I am excited to have something to train for and to have a more structured running schedule...in the fall.
ABK
It sounds like you have figured it out! I am where "summer you" is right now... I don't feel like having a schedule and I am just enjoying running for running's sake. Except I have been here for like a year.... lol. But I'm happy. And luckily, I don't get paid to run fast (or get paid to run at all!) so I can just do what I want. Congrats on running 4 days this week!
ReplyDeleteI thought of you when I was writing this, because I feel like you are the kind of runner who runs for enjoyment primarily, and races/trains secondarily. And I think you're a badass runner, so clearly there is nothing wrong with that! I became a race-focused runner because I used to need races for motivation, but maybe I am just not in that place anymore, and in the future I think I'll be racing less frequently.
DeleteYES, summer training is the worst. Last night I went out for an easy 3 miler at around 6:30? It was definitely later than I usually go and I had high hopes for it to be cooler and it wasn't. At all. I kept wondering why I live in Florida when there are plenty of other places that have better summer temperatures!!! Over the weekend Adam and I were sweating by the time we walked from the grocery store back to our car!
ReplyDeleteI have been adding in really short speedwork runs and inching up my "long runs." I like the variety and it gives me confidence for fall racing. My long runs go up .5 every week so it's a slow build which is nice because it never feels overwhelming or intimidating. Going from 5 to 6 miles sounds intimidating to me, but going from 5 to 5.5 sounds doable.
I get what you mean about not wanting a structured schedule though. I mean I live for structure so I almost always want a structured schedule, but I am not taking my training super seriously. Last Friday I skipped my run just because I didn't want to do it. I really had no specific reason other than wanting to sit on the couch with Adam after a long week. I know when I start training for a race that won't be possible, and I know consistency is important in general, but right now we should be enjoying the freedom of just running without a strict schedule! Why not?!
Remember when we got back into running after surgery and the idea of NOT wanting to run was foreign? And now you and I are both like "eh, I'm skipping this run because I just wanna SIT" haha. We are getting back to normal!
DeleteI agree - if we just want to be enjoying it and doing what feels good right now, then why not indeed!