The club's decision was to hold back for a while, to allow the ice to thaw a little more as there is a danger the boats will get damaged. This meant I only got a short run in, about 3 or 4 miles instead of the usual 10. Initially I was feeling a tad disappointed and yet it was the right thing to happen because:
- I had run 5 or 6 miles the day before with my friend John. As you know I am his cruel, ruthless and totally mean trainer. Besides, it's sometimes good to have a day in between runs to avoid injury.
- It was an opportunity to have a few faster bursts, rather than the long, plodding kind of pace I have on my longer runs. These faster bursts are great in raising my heart rate to the point I would have difficulty in talking more than a couple of grunts. At this level it's best to limit these to less than 5 minutes.
- The scenery was lovely! A cold, crisp morning and I regret I have no photographs to truly capture the beauty of it. In fact the only ones I have are:
Nevertheless this was enough to have that "feel good" sensation and a dose of the Runner's High afterwards. So another few miles done and an opportunity to think a few things through but nowhere near enough. Right now I'm having a demanding time at work and I find I'm looking forward to the Christmas holidays more and more. Although, mentally, I could have done with a longer run, it was not without it's benefit and I'm thankful for that.
Please check out this related post Running - the benefits of little and often which outlines more of the above in greater detail. This post proves there is truth in this: for the regular or aspiring runner, every run does bring benefit and it's important to believe that.
Also related:
Note to self: I'm a runner, I need to run
Running in the winter
No comments:
Post a Comment