Running

I have been traveling a lot lately and unable to keep up my
running

Today, I finally got back to it and, after the initial agony, it
felt great. I congratulate myself on being sensible about it.

You see, when I come back to running after a layoff, the
temptation is to run hard and fast. You know by now this is not
brilliant. So do I, but the temptation is always there.

What I do is force myself to take an easy run after a layoff.
That way I’m even more motivated to go out hard the next day.
Also, my muscles feel better for it.

So tomorrow I’ll go out hard. But I like to keep my schedule
flexible, so I’ll decide later what I’ll do. I’ll see how the
weather is, how I feel, and then either do a long run, a pace
run, hill repeats, intervals or a tempo run.

I generally work out my schedule a week or two in advance, but I
still like to keep it flexible. Some days I’m pumped, some days
I’m low on energy. Since no-one’s forcing me to follow a
schedule, I let it vary according to how I feel.

Let’s say my schedule shows hill repeats, but when I get out
there I realize my energy is low that day. Instead of forcing
myself to do hill repeats and hating them, I may switch to a
tempo run. I can still make it hard enough to feel I’ve achieved
something, but it fits better with my lower energy.

Another time, I might go out intending to do a tempo run and
decide that I’m feeling pumped. After my warmup, I’ll switch to
intervals, a pace run or hill repeats. The first ten minutes, my
warmup, gives me time to decide.

A rigid schedule may be important if you’re training for a
special event, but if you’re just running for health and fitness
it can be a hindrance. So be flexible. You’ll enjoy it more.

And if you enjoy it, you’ll want to keep running!