Out of nowhere
Training for endurance sports still is curious to me after all of these years. No matter how many runs I do or how in tune with my body I become, I'm occasionally surprised -- maybe stunned is a better word choice -- by how positive things can happen when I least expect it.
Today was one of those occasions. I had no reason to expect anything positive out of my four-mile maintenance run today. It was supposed to be, as much as anything, just another chance to get out the door and get my body used to running on a consistent basis. My expectations for the run were minimal.
Then, out of nowhere, I turned in a decent training run. We're not talking about anything record setting, but for this time of year, where I'm typically at in my training at this time of year and how I've felt physically and psychologically with regard to my training in recent months, it was astonishing to me.
It came without any warning. Yesterday's run was just a bit shy of miserable. Nothing painful or overly strenuous, but it was work. I felt like I was laboring throughout my run. It was all I could do to finish my last mile in under 8:45. Maybe the 20-mph wind I ran into at the start of my run drained me. No matter. Four-mile runs, at this point in my running career, shouldn't feel that difficult. Especially after choosing not to run for a few days prior to yesterday.
I shouldn't have felt strong today. Certainly not more so than yesterday, when I was better rested. My nutrition and hydration hadn't improved significantly either. But when I headed out today, something felt different. Not immediately. But I soon knew I could do something extra today.
Would it be extra miles or faster pace? I had a half-mile to figure it out. It's at that point when I veer off from my short-run trail to log additional miles. Today, with daylight waning, I opted to work on my pace.
I was running strongly at that point. I hit the half-mile mark about 10 seconds faster than yesterday. No feat there, really, especially considering how I felt yesterday. The question was, Could I maintain this pace for the rest of the run?
Somehow I did. I even ran my final mile in 8:16 -- again, not exactly blazing for me, but I'll gladly take that pace in February -- almost a half-minute faster than I did it yesterday and only a second off my best mile so far this year. I finished the run 1 minute, 42 seconds faster than yesterday and 25 seconds faster than my previous best time this year.
The best part? It felt good. It felt smooth. It felt almost natural again.
I felt strong.
And psychologically? I haven't felt this good about a run in a long, long time.
Today was one of those occasions. I had no reason to expect anything positive out of my four-mile maintenance run today. It was supposed to be, as much as anything, just another chance to get out the door and get my body used to running on a consistent basis. My expectations for the run were minimal.
Then, out of nowhere, I turned in a decent training run. We're not talking about anything record setting, but for this time of year, where I'm typically at in my training at this time of year and how I've felt physically and psychologically with regard to my training in recent months, it was astonishing to me.
It came without any warning. Yesterday's run was just a bit shy of miserable. Nothing painful or overly strenuous, but it was work. I felt like I was laboring throughout my run. It was all I could do to finish my last mile in under 8:45. Maybe the 20-mph wind I ran into at the start of my run drained me. No matter. Four-mile runs, at this point in my running career, shouldn't feel that difficult. Especially after choosing not to run for a few days prior to yesterday.
I shouldn't have felt strong today. Certainly not more so than yesterday, when I was better rested. My nutrition and hydration hadn't improved significantly either. But when I headed out today, something felt different. Not immediately. But I soon knew I could do something extra today.
Would it be extra miles or faster pace? I had a half-mile to figure it out. It's at that point when I veer off from my short-run trail to log additional miles. Today, with daylight waning, I opted to work on my pace.
I was running strongly at that point. I hit the half-mile mark about 10 seconds faster than yesterday. No feat there, really, especially considering how I felt yesterday. The question was, Could I maintain this pace for the rest of the run?
Somehow I did. I even ran my final mile in 8:16 -- again, not exactly blazing for me, but I'll gladly take that pace in February -- almost a half-minute faster than I did it yesterday and only a second off my best mile so far this year. I finished the run 1 minute, 42 seconds faster than yesterday and 25 seconds faster than my previous best time this year.
The best part? It felt good. It felt smooth. It felt almost natural again.
I felt strong.
And psychologically? I haven't felt this good about a run in a long, long time.
posted by RTG at 9:22 PM
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