After taking five days off for the second time this month, I went for a slow run on Monday and ended up doing a lot of thinking. I was frustrated by being injured even though I thought I was being careful with Maffetone, and I was frustrated by my performance at the ekiden.
What I started to think about is how much I have gotten attached both to the idea of being a fast runner and the ambition of running races in certain times. I don't think it's a bad thing to want to run fast, and it seems like a natural conclusion for someone who runs a lot, but I do think there is the danger of getting too serious and too attached. The body can only handle so much, especially as a new runner, and while I think my training over the past 4-5 months has been reasonable, I also feel like some of my attachment to my goals has added stress to what in theory should be a stress relieving activity. I also wonder if it is related to some of my anger and aggression lately.
I started thinking about the way that Taiyo runs, how carefree he is, and how much fun he has when he does it. I was thinking that he needs to learn how to run from me, but maybe it is the other way around.
I'm not abandoning Maffetone or running, of course, but I'm going to back off a bit. I'll still monitor my HR, etc. when I run, but I won't check it until after my run is finished. I'll also try some other variety, especially that makes my legs go a bit faster, as I'd still like to hit that 3:00 goal in Tsukuba.
I've also started some exercises that I've gotten through Running Times, good warm up stuff and fun stuff with circuit workouts. There's no doubt it would help me to other general strength work, and I think it should be a good fit.
Mon: 1:14/126/Zoom Streak. I've started just including the warm up and cool down. I'll have the watch going whenever I am actually running.
Tue: 1:08/126/Ultra
Wed: 1:08/135/Ultra. Had a bit fun for the last couple of hundred meters and ran hard.
Thu: Circuit workout! 4X500m with exercises in between. Shot for marathon pace, but was a little fast. Not too tough, will try to do two circuits next time I do this.
Fri: 1:27:50/18.7/145/MWU4 Had the day off, so after teaching at the day care, went out for a hard workout. I planned to do 3X5k at marathon pace with 2k easy in between each interval. I was running right in the middle of the day, and it ended up being a hot one, so I got through second interval and decided I was done. I did the intervals relatively fast: 4:03 pace for the first one, 4:15 for the second, but was a little discouraged that I didn't get through the third one. I was pretty wasted, though, and the shoes are really too small for my left foot, so I ended up walking back about 6k, about half of that barefoot.
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