Level up

This past week I have been attempting to lengthen my runs. I felt that endurance was one of the key areas that I could really improve on, but then again that wouldn't be a problem in the first place if I could just run long at the snap of my fingers.

The thing is that distance running is veeeeeery boring if done alone. So boring, in fact, that I have taken to counting footsteps, counting down time, trying to calculate the times I need to hit, among other things to keep myself occupied. It's not so much the body but the mind that gets tired after a while.

Then there's the body, like it or not, running long is going to hurt, one way or another. There might be some minor niggles or maybe the socks didn't fit right or the shoelaces are too tight, either way they will all throw a king-sized spanner into the works. External factors aside, the legs or lungs might not feel right, and when things don't go right, it's easy to get demoralised. With your motivation gone, it's only a matter of time before you fall to the temptation of quitting your run.

With all of that in mind, I had already had about 2 or 3 aborted 1 hour runs. Due to a combination of the above reasons, they have all been scaled back to about 40 minute runs. Considering my previous runs though, they have been an improvement, heck they might even have passed for my long runs in the bad old days. Still, I got a target to hit, and that target requires a new kind of bullet, the long range kind.

One of the stumbling blocks to me running long is my refusal to slow down to a shuffle. At the very least, I must have some semblance of being a runner not a jogger. Besides that, I have taken the words of my ex-coach to heart. He told me that when you are falling way short of your target times in a workout, it's often better to not struggle on and do it just for the sake of it. So yeah, I am a picky runner.

Ok enough of the rambling and back to today. I was on the verge of setting a new record for my weekly mileage until my aversion to running long did me in. Still, the situation was still salvageable if I really stuck to my Sunday plan for a long run. In my kiasu-ness, I even did a morning run at the gym too. This was a modestly paced 7.3k, since my projected long run was in the back of my mind. In a way, this run decreased some of the pressure, as running it allowed me to hit my regular mileage of 50km.

I went out for my long run with the late afternoon run still searing overhead, as if daring me to come challenge it's wilting powers. I refused to be cowed though, even if I had been defeated by it in the past. My plan was to do a 10k, not really a long run, but I decided to see how things felt before proceeding further. My itinerary this time was simple, run to Botanical Gardens, then do loops inside until I feel dizzy or pass out.

The run there was uneventful, an aside from some residual lower leg tightness, relatively pain free. I kept my rhythm constant and tried to keep relaxed. After doing some mental calculations (another way to stave boredom), I determined that I had to do another 9 laps on top of my run there. That number scared me a bit though, so I tried not to dwell on that. After shaking off my soreness, I actually felt great and was able to enjoy my loops. I was quite pleased to find that I could just relax and enjoy the ride, this is what I really signed up for, too bad it's few and very far between (pun unintended). Whenever boredom threatened to creep in, I tried to calculate the splits for each loop, and how far I had run. I found that I was still going strong even as I was approaching my targeted distance, so I decided to try to tack on a few more loops and hit the hour mark.

The hour mark came and went, and I decided to go for another couple of loops. In the end, I managed 14 laps in addition to my run there. Hell the great feeling was just unreal, I felt that I really made a breakthrough. I could even remember my split times. To top it off, I blew right past my previous weekly mileage and did 65km in total. Just amazing.

P.s. I still need running partners. Boredom will be back for double payback after today.