*taps microphone*
Is this thing on?
So, it's been a few weeks since I've updated this log. I have been running during that time, but haven't been in much of a mood to ruminate on running, pace, goals, progress, etc.
I have had a few epiphanies, breakthroughs, etc. in the last few weeks, though. First and foremost, I was starting to lose my enjoyment of running. It was starting to feel much more like a chore than something I do for fun, fitness, etc. I wasn't enjoying it. So, I started thinking about what I wasn't enjoying. Certainly, the weather was an issue, but there's not much I can do about that and since I have a marathon in four weeks, I'm pretty much obligated to gutting it out.
Speaking of that upcoming marathon, I'm just not feeling it. I had so much momentum and excitement coming off Dopey that I felt like I could dive right back into marathon training. I don't know if it's been the weather, cumulative fatigue or just the fact that this was never going to be my "A" race, but I can't get excited about it. I'm signed up, I'll run it and I'll finish, but I'm not expecting big things.
So, that brings me to training. If running is feeling like a chore and I'm training for a race that I'm not mentally invested in, why was I trying so darn hard and putting so much effort - physically and mentally - into training if I wasn't enjoying it? As luck would have it, a coworker/fellow runner posted an article about the joys of being a "slow" runner (I say "slow" because it's all relative and there will be no speed shaming in this space - a marathoner is a marathoner, where you do it in a 7 minute/mile pace or 16 minute/mile pace). But the author's main point was, why get so hung up on pace? Run for fun.
So, for this race at least, I'm taking a page out of Elsa's playbook (this is the Disboards after all) and I'm just going to let it go. I've decided to largely skip the speed days in favor of just getting some miles in. I'm still sticking to prescribed distances and trying to stay in the same vicinity of my EA, EB and LR paces, but not worrying about it too much, either way. Honestly, I've been largely faster than my EA and EB paces and falling into a LR-ish pace most runs.
What's this going to mean? Probably an average at best marathon next month. I know I have done my best runs when sticking to DopeyBadger's plans, no doubt about it. But for right now, I need to take a step back, realize I'm not running this next race for time and I don't need a PoT for the foreseeable future and just run because I enjoy it. The last thing I want to do is burn myself out. I'll re-evaluate after next month's marathon, check my timing and decide what I want to do for Lakefront. Fortunately, I have six months to figure it all out.
So, here we go...
Tuesday
6 miles @ 8:47/mile. I honestly don't know what I did to maintain that pace, but I'm guessing it was warm out. We had a couple days this past week when I was able to run in either shorts or shorts and short sleeves. It was really sticking nice. I'm guessing the warm weather improved my mood and pace a bit.
Wednesday
6 miles @ 8:52/mile. Another nice day, I'm guessing.
Friday
5 miles @ 8:54/mile. I was going to do six miles, but it was raining and the rain started picking up, so I cut things a little short.
Saturday
10.01 miles @ 9:07/mile. The weather cooled off quite a bit after the rain, but this was still a pretty pleasant run. Mid-40s, maybe.
Sunday
10 miles @ 8:52/mile. This was scheduled for an LR, so I did try to push a little harder for this run and keep in in the 9-minute mile range. The tough part is turning off auto-pause on Strava so I get dinged for waiting for a walk light, etc. Hard to say what my true pace was, but this all felt good.
So, this felt like a pretty good week. Warm weather definitely helped and I'm ready for more of the same, but this is the Midwest so I know we'll get snow *at least* one more time. That said, it was nice to just relax and run. I'll continue with this approach to pacing, while sticking largely to the prescribed distances. Next week is 17 miles then we start the countdown to the marathon.
Miles This Week: 37
Year to Date: 314