Token Days
Something is almost always better the nothing.
There will be days when some aspect of reality intrudes
on you have to scrap your ideal-world
training plan. That doesn't make scrapping the
whole affair the logical conclusion. A 4-miler is
much closer to a 10-miler than it is to 0 miles for the day.
Need for Speed
Always stay in touch with your basic speed. You'll
spend a lot more time just getting back
to where you were if you ignore it for weeks
at a time than you will tending to it once or twice
a week throughout the year. You don't need to do hands-
on-knees sets of 200s every week to maintain your speed. Fast,
relaxed striders toward the end of an easy run or immediately
following one will go a long way toward preserving
your turnover and the increased range of motion
that comes only with running near
top-end speed.
Insurance Policies
Think of ancillary matters-flexibility work, core strengthening, form drills-
not in either/or terms in relation to your running, but in terms of
"yes, and..." That is, they're not replacements for running, but
a form of insurance policy that will allow you to better
pursue and enjoy your running at whatever level you
chose to . Even if they don't improve your performance
-and they almost certainly will-
when done correctly they're going to make the simple act of running
feel better, especially the older you get and the longer you
have been running. Most of these activities are easy to
sneak in throughout the day in little clumps of activity.
Escaping Ruts
When you feel like you're in a rut, make a deliberate effort
to shake things up.
Head out the door without the slightest plan
where to run.
Run at an unusual time of day.
Drive to run somewhere different.
Even wearing crazy clothes can be enough to reboot your mental approach.
Bad Weather
Look, you know you are going to run. So don't waste time and
mental energy staring out the window at the horrible
weather.
Every Run Counts
There are no junk miles. If you are not injured so badly that you are
altering your form, or so sick that you feel much worse after
running, then it's all good. Even if you think a run doesn't advantage your fitness,
it has other benefits-
promoting blood flow, clearing your mind,
getting you away from the computer,
burning calories, getting you out in nature, helping you spend time with friends,
maintaining the rhythm of good training, and infinitely so on.
Regrets
It's not uncommon to go to bed thinking
"Darn, I should have run today."
It's not common to go to bed thinking
"I shouldn't have run today."
Finding Time
We find time for the things that are important to us.
Period.
Keeping Perspective
Relax, it's just running. Of course it can be the most
intoxicating, captivating, meaningful part of your life.
But it still is just running.
Nobody's making you do it, and you are not going to save
the world doing it.
So find what you enjoy about running, and then
follow your bliss.
*All quotes are from Running Times March 2011, Scott's Original Miscellany by Scott Douglas.
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