I headed out for my long run on Sunday thinking I'd probably do 30 km, but as usual, I would wait and see how it went. As it turned out, I felt pretty good and I ended up doing 40 km. While I would like to be able to do it faster, I maintained a steady sustainable pace the whole way, and finished spent but not wasted.
It's sure nice having a GPS watch. I covered a lot of new ground on my run, and without my watch I'd have a hard time knowing how far I went.
I deliberately didn't aim for a marathon distance (42 km). I'm not sure why. Partly it doesn't matter, since I'm only doing it for myself. Part of me wants to wait till I can manage a faster time. (Although that might be wishful thinking.) And part of me just likes round numbers :-)
It went really well, it was a beautiful day and I felt good. The last few kilometers were a bit of a struggle, but that seems true regardless of the distance. Some of it's definitely in your mind.
It's amazing what the human body (even an almost 60 year old one) can do. When you're sitting on the couch, the idea of running for a little over four hours straight seems inconceivable. But work your way up, and put in the practice, and given your body cooperates, and it's actually quite enjoyable. (Assuming you're not racing, then it's a whole other story.)
I could bore you with a lot of numbers, of heart rates and paces and times, but I'll restrain myself since it's all basically meaningless to anyone but me.
It's two days later, and aside from a little stiffness, I feel surprisingly good. So it's back to the cycle again - an easy week to recover and then juggle how much I can run while staying healthy and uninjured (and motivated).
It's sure nice having a GPS watch. I covered a lot of new ground on my run, and without my watch I'd have a hard time knowing how far I went.
I deliberately didn't aim for a marathon distance (42 km). I'm not sure why. Partly it doesn't matter, since I'm only doing it for myself. Part of me wants to wait till I can manage a faster time. (Although that might be wishful thinking.) And part of me just likes round numbers :-)
It went really well, it was a beautiful day and I felt good. The last few kilometers were a bit of a struggle, but that seems true regardless of the distance. Some of it's definitely in your mind.
It's amazing what the human body (even an almost 60 year old one) can do. When you're sitting on the couch, the idea of running for a little over four hours straight seems inconceivable. But work your way up, and put in the practice, and given your body cooperates, and it's actually quite enjoyable. (Assuming you're not racing, then it's a whole other story.)
I could bore you with a lot of numbers, of heart rates and paces and times, but I'll restrain myself since it's all basically meaningless to anyone but me.
It's two days later, and aside from a little stiffness, I feel surprisingly good. So it's back to the cycle again - an easy week to recover and then juggle how much I can run while staying healthy and uninjured (and motivated).
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