Learn | Make | Fix | Run

Although I only ran two times last week, since I am posting on a Tuesday, I can tell you that I did not break my first goal of taking more than four days off from running. Phew! Last week, the plan was to run an 8K time trial on Saturday. I completed a 15-minute tempo run on Monday. Due to my schedule, I had to skip 11x 1/4-mile intervals on Tuesday. Considering the remaining daylight hours, running a 5K base on Wednesday was better than trying the intervals. Thursday and Friday were set aside for rest days. However, life threw me a curveball, and I couldn't run on Saturday or Sunday. Thankfully, I managed to get out there on Monday. I did S & C on both run days last week (and yesterday), but since I did not try to squeeze in an extra session last week, I missed that goal for the second week in a row. It looks like this week’s plan will mirror last week’s. I can’t run today (Tuesday), but I can run the intervals I missed last week on We...

There’s not much to talk about with my running week. I maintained my first goal of not taking more than four days off running. I broke my streak of completing strength and conditioning work three times a week. I ran four days last week; two were workouts (tempo and interval), a long run, and a base run. I tend to do S & C on base run and recovery run days. However, I only had one base run last week. I was crunched for time and never did my S & C. I learned that I need to plan to do my S & C on days I don’t run, especially if I skip a base or recovery run. Lesson learned, and on to next week.

I reminded myself this week that I have a problem with pacing races and time trials. I let the reptilian portion of my brain take over and throw out any common sense. I assume I am in better shape and have gained fitness, and I try to run at a pace that is outside my abilities. It’s going all out to prevent leaving anything in the tank, only to consume the entire tank before the run is complete. I must train myself to take repeated small bites rather than bite off more than I can chew. Case in point: last Saturday’s 5K time trial. I did not have a clear goal time when I started. I noticed that my base runs had been getting faster at the same low heart rate, so I assumed my fitness had improved. My VO2 max, as reported by my watch, had also improved. The weather was cool (windy, but cool), and I run faster when it’s cool. I wanted to start where I left off in July 2024 and tried to run 8:20/mile, hoping to run a little faster to break my previous time. A little faster turned out to be 8...