Wrapping up week one I am sore and tired. Jumping right back into running after so much time off has my legs screaming at me to go back to sleeping in and relaxing on the couch rather than training. Ignoring that thought for the next 14 weeks will be my biggest challenge.
Part of blocking out the bad thoughts is running when I am not feeling my best…like today. That being said I am also very committed to not being stupid in my training. Stupid would be to have a bad day but push myself to run too far or too fast. Today I cut my run back to 3 ½ miles and I took a few walking breaks.
This brings up the topic of walking. Some people will say that a runner should keep a constant pace the entire time and not walk until the run is over. That’s a great concept. I’ll add to that and say that everyone should also always drive 55 miles per hour and we should never have traffic jams. And people should never eat anything with more than an allotted amount of calories and we can eliminate obesity. And every day should be bright and sunny except for a brief rain shower in the afternoon so we always see a rainbow to cheer us up.
Here in reality average runners like me have to walk otherwise we run the risk of keeling over dead on the sidewalk. I have decided that within a training program, especially in the beginning weeks, walking is not just acceptable but critically important.
My end goal is to be able to survive, not win, a marathon. It will take me around 4 hours so I need to start getting used to being on my feet, moving forward for a long time. In a training run sometimes it’s not important to run 5 or 10 miles without stopping. Rather one should target doing a set amount of time on the road with periodic walking breaks to ensure you don’t crash too early.
Is this something I have done scientific research on? Have I read this in published studies on successful running? No. But I need to walk and therefore I have convinced myself that this is fact. I don’t care if Bill Rodgers and Roger Bannister crash through my roof and say I’m wrong. I believe it is true and that’s all I need. How’s that for logic!
So today I ran and walked, then ran a little more. Who cares what my pace was. I woke up, felt like dog-meat, but got my training in anyway. Thanks in large part to…walking.
Moral of the story: If you are an average or below average runner trying to increase your daily mileage, don’t kill yourself trying to run too far or too fast. Take breaks to walk and rest. It should help you get more time on the road and improve your overall endurance.
Tomorrow: I hate Mondays. It’ll be a rest day or I might get to the gym and do some non-cardio exercise.
Running Song of the Day: Miley Cyrus – “Party In The USA” Why? Because it’s awesome. Don’t judge me.
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