Faster and Slower, More and Less, and Sometimes None

I like to think of myself as a decent runner after 9 1/2 years since getting back to fitness.  Six marathons.  One Boston.  Four under 3:16.  One of them under 3:10.  

But I had my first setback in a while on Mother's Day--as recent readers have read about.  I had my slowest 5K in a while two weeks after.  And since Sunday, I have been rebuilding confidence and rebuilding my sense of "running like me."

But I have to relearn some lessons along the way.  Lessons I first learned when I ran with Charm City Run.  Lessons I learned again when running with others (especially those from Back on My Feet) and comparing notes.  Lessons I learned yet again when I got a plan from coach Shannon at Creating Momentum.  Lessons that now that I am enjoying running with friends but basically planning on my own, I am having to either re-learn or at least remind myself of again and again.

This morning's lesson was about quantity.  Call it the Goldilocks Lesson.  Each day of training has a pace.  Sometimes a steady tempo.  Sometimes increasing tempo before pulling back for a cool down.  Sometimes the ups and downs of a track workout with intervals and active rest.

Then there are weekly patterns.  Some weeks I run more.  Some weeks I run less.  Occasionally two weeks are about the same.  But running a lot every week is just not the right thing to do.

Then there is within the week.  Make sure to take at least one day off.  Make sure not to do two intense workouts in a row if it can be avoided.  (Intense can be faster or further.)  And with those rules in mind, generally don't plan more than 4 (and usually just 3) intense workouts a week.

What happens if I break those rules?  I am probably not going to get faster.  I am probably not going to run stronger.  I am going to increase my chance of injury.  And by not respecting my body's needs in training, I will at best tread water.

So, when I missed my second track workout of the week yesterday, I made a choice.  I ended up with a sort of progression run over a hilly seven miles.  

I really wanted that second track workout and went to bed last night thinking "wouldn't it be great" to get that workout in this morning.  8x400 instead of 6x400.  Rest intervals of 200 meters rather than 400 meters.  I had it all in my mind.

Until I woke up and thought about it while my body was preparing.  

And I realized how many rules I had already broken this week.  

And I realized that breaking one more was not going to help me to prepare for my next 5K.

So, I thought better of it and ran just 3.2--with no mile faster than 8:40.

And I got on with my day.

But I am thinking long and hard about the "Goldilocks plan".  What is not to fast and not too slow.  What is not too short and not too long.  How should I plan that out and what goal does it all center on?  

And how can I take this lesson from running and apply it to the rest of life?

Comfortable Miles

This morning I slept "in" (not getting up till 5:30) and then got out to run just before 6 AM for what turned out to be just four comfortable miles.  The paces were 8:46, 8:24, 8:18, 7:55.  Those are much slower than the first four miles I ran yesterday (7:22, 7:19, 6:56, 7:06) on my way to a 7:07 pace (a correction from what I thought was 7:03 yesterday).  But that is okay, today was a "recovery" run and yesterday turned out to be more of a tempo run than a long slow run anyway.

While I commented in yesterday's entry that I was working hard enough not to be thinking very hard about anything other than "keep going at this pace," I would still call the pace "comfortably hard".  That is a term that I borrow from one of the Charm City Run coaches.  When I crossed paths with the training group yesterday, I believe that the coach for this season is Marie but another long-time participant and coach (John) was leading the run yesterday.  He told everyone to just take it easy yesterday (I did my run beforehand and had already completely ignored the advice).  But John is the coach who used to suggest that we seek a pace that was "comfortably hard" for our tempo runs.

Today was just comfortable--rather than comfortably hard.  After the fast/easy/medium paces I ran yesterday, my legs were tight and then slowly came to life as I continued to run.  Each of the four miles this morning was comfortable as I went from my neighborhood around the Cedarcroft and then back around my own neighborhood again.

The key lesson for today is there is a lot to say about using comfortable pace as a guide.  It is a guide to running.  If I am running at a pace that is comfortable I don't tend to get injured.  Injuries happen when I push too hard.  And comfortable can range from comfortably hard to just plain comfortable for me to comfortable for someone with whom I am pacing.  Each has its role.

But the idea of a comfortable pace applies to other things in life as well.  Am I working at a comfortable pace at work?  I'd say it is usually comfortably hard rather than just comfortable.  When I push too hard I do not get "injured" but I am much more likely to make errors in judgment.

The development of interpersonal relationships is another great example of something for which comfortable pace can be important.  Even in friendship there is a pace at which sharing develops and with which individuals can be comfortable.  Sometimes too much information too quickly can make the pace uncomfortable.  Then there can be misinterpretation.

Learning a musical instrument (like my approach to bass as an adult) is another thing where comfortable pace can be important.  Too fast can lead to frustration.

For each of these the definition of what is "comfortable" and how "pace" is measured is different.  But each part of my life can be guided by trying to figure out how to proceed with confidence and in a way that promotes ideal progression without missteps that can lead to injury, errors in judgment, misinterpretation, or frustration.  All of which lead to poor outcomes.  None of which are ideal.