Okay, for those of you who remember my post about dreams a few weeks back, I won’t go into that kind of detail. Last night, however, I dreamed I was playing in the snow with a mailman and we decapitated a snowman. Analyze that.
Today, I hit the treadmill for the tried and true 4 x 1200 m workout at 6:40 min/mile pace. It was a stressful day and I just wasn’t feeling the 1200’s. Even during the first one, I noticed my form kind of sagging and I didn’t have much desire to do another one – certainly not three more!
Still, I made a lazy attempt at #2 and got through 800 m before I decided it was time to reboot. I knew I had some angry bursts of speed in me and I knew that would lend itself well to working on my running economy. So, I walked for a while to recover my breath and then hit a 400 m interval at 6 min/mile pace. I focused on keeping a smooth stride, a fast turnover and deep relaxed breaths. It worked out well. I recovered by walking 100 m, jogging 200 m then walking another 100 m. I did 5 of those and completed each just as easily as the first. It felt good.
When I’ve been at my best (running-wise), I haven’t always completed every workout as planned, but I have always completed every workout. It would have been easy to tell myself I wasn’t going to get it done today and just quit at 2.5 miles. Instead, I adjusted to a workout that was still challenging, but better for the day. I completed my planned mileage for the day and I worked on my running economy…which apparently needs the work. Most of all, however, I left the workout feeling better. Instead of the workout adding to the stress of my day, I felt I accomplished something and that always de-stresses me!