Getting Back to Basics

The rain seems to have finally left the Northeast, which is a mixed blessing for runners. I enjoyed the cooler temperatures this past month and have especially relished running in the rain. Saturday I got out on the road early because Erin had a class that started at 8am and I had to drop her off and figure out how to keep the boys occupied for the day. I was still fighting the lingering effects of fatigue so the six mile jaunt around the neighborhood wasn’t as much fun as usual. In fact, I felt like I was slogging through wet cement in a rain forest-the humidity was definitely upwards of 60%.

Yesterday was much better. I was on the road by eight and cooked through the six mile loop at better than eight minute per mile pace. I felt like my old self for the first time in a week. I’ve decided to drop my long run from the schedule for the next two weeks to give my legs and body a chance to rest up for Steamtown training, which I’ll start mid-July. By long run I mean anything more than 7 miles.

My work schedule requires that I be flexible about where in the week I can squeeze in a long run. The fact that this day is going to end up a moving target throws off the rest of the training week. I’m not sure how easy it’s going to be to fit in a day of speed work and a day of hills and still program enough rest into the schedule to satisfy the demands of my creaky 41 year old body. When I ran the Marine Corps in 1997 my training was pretty minimal-one long run on Sunday, one longish run on Wednesday, and 4 miles a day every other day except on my rest day, which was Monday. Maybe I need to get back to simplicity and not over-think the routine.