Despite my attempts to fully convert into a morning runner, I'm now a hybrid. Sometimes I run at night, sometimes in the morning. I base it on my schedule -- and whether I need some extra rest. As I noted before, variety is a good thing.
I returned to morning runs today after a week of evenings. I kept waking up to look at the alarm clock because 6am is early for me. When it finally rolled around, I got out the door in 25 minutes, about normal. This week, the schedule really gets into the endurance part. Monday I did a hard workout: 9 miles with four at 6:30 pace. I took yesterday off to rest for a couple of "medium-long runs." Pfitzinger has an interesting quirk in the schedule: running what I consider a good chunk of distance in the middle of the week. The schedule called for 13 today. Last week, I split up the 12 to 8 in the morning and 4 at night because I was doing a hash. This isn't ideal, of course. So today, I set out at a little before 6:30 to put in miles. The idea of running so much during the week is so foreign to me. During the long-training run, I asked one guy who did Pfitzinger last year to run a 2:58 how odd it was. He said he got up at 5am to get the runs in, since they go up to 15 miles. Sheesh. Isn't it hard, I asked. "You get used to it," he said. That's so true. No matter what with running, you get used to it. This is just something new, the same as the idea of running nearly everyday or for several hours straight was foreign to me at one point.
My run took me from my apartment on 100th Street down to Chambers Street. I ran a good part of the island, passing through the Upper West Side, Midtown, Chelsea, the Village, Soho and Tribeca. Today was a beautiful day to run along the Hudson, and I was going at a pace where I could appreciate how fortunate I am to live here. Sometimes, I take it for granted. It got tiring near the end, although I kept the pace at a comfortable 7:50. I can't say I'm used to it yet, but I'll get there. Tomorrow calls for another 11 miles.
12.5 miles, 1:38:17
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3 comments:
Yeah, it takes a little bit to get used to those midweek medium long runs, but they REALLY build your aerobic fitness. As much as possible, it's important to try and do that 12-15 (I personally top out at 15) in one go. Their real benefit will become apparent as you do longer tempo runs.
The key is not to run them too hard—they're still a "hard" day, but meant for endurance, not stamina—and also not to run too hard the day before or after. One other tip, eat a gel in your final 2 miles. Not so you can pick up the pace, but tp begin the recovery process.
You'll know you're not getting enough rest if your tempo run later in the week feels like a struggle.
Great run. I get up at 4.45 and even earlier when I need to get in longer midweek runs. (it sucks to be slow)
I agree with everything Anon wrote.
Anonymous,
Good to here. I got in another 11 tonight, so I'm truly getting used to it. I'll try the gel during the next 13+ run.
Greg,
4:45 is unfathomable to me. That's night, not morning.
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