I feel there is an art to weekend running. Weekends are always when you toss in your longest run of the week. This week that happened to be 5 ½ miles for me, but in a few weeks I’ll be looking more along the lines of 10+ miles. That doesn’t mean every Friday night I’m going to come home, eat a plate of pasta, chug Gatorade and go to bed after Jeopardy to rest up. I’m not 85 years old yet so I still love Friday night.
Needless to say Friday was a rest day, as it likely will be every week. There were a couple beers at lunch followed up with drinks after work at one of my favorite local establishments. Then I fired up the grill and enjoyed steak tips and a few Jack and Gingers. But even with all that I was up at 7am to get my run in Saturday morning.
This is when my experience in the art of weekend running kicks in. Lets break down the run mile by mile. Hopfully this might help you on your hard weekends.
Mile 1: This one is the worst. It’s a combination of a lingering headache, body ache and the second guessing of whether you are too dehydrated from the previous night and questioning if you should be running at all. Getting past mile 1 is the key.
Mile 2: By this time you feel more normal and start to find a good pace. The error you can make here is feeling too good and picking up the pace. The truth is you only feel better…not good. Better than mile 1 doesn’t mean it’s time to take on the world.
Mile 3: Focus is key at the halfway point. For me, I tend to stop thinking about getting my planned run done and I think either “should I cut this short and head home” or “do I feel good enough to add a few miles”. Both are equally bad decisions. Remember that you have a plan…stick to it.
Mile 4: This is when you start dragging. Just suck it up and keep going. I have no good advice here other than knowing that a little suffering is good for you. It means your challenging yourself.
Mile 5: Knowing this is the final mile, and reminding yourself of that makes things better. Keep telling yourself to finish strong because after this mile you’re done for the day. I tell myself if I finish without walking I will enjoy a victory beer this afternoon even more than usual. It does beg the question of which of the beers I have today is my actual “victory beer”…maybe all of them.
Then I’m done. The best part is I don’t have to go to work after, nor amI totally beat because I ran after working a full day. Even with a little over-indulgence the night before I feel more rested going into the run and I get to stretch and recover all day after. That’s why weekends are my favorite.
Tomorrow: I’m thinking I’ll do the same 5 ½ mile run I did today. That would give me around 23 miles for the week which I am more than happy with. But I’ll do it as a slow jog to save my legs more than I did earlier this week.
Running Song of the Day: Soul Coughing –“Super Bon Bon” It’s a badass song and if you’re on pace and passing people the lyric “move aside and let the man go through” makes you feel like one mean runner.
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