Friday, June 15, 2012

Running with a Plan


Over the last few weeks, I’ve approached my workouts in a new manner….setting a plan to achieve a specific objective before setting out on a run. I used to just go out and run for however long and at whatever speed I felt like on that particular day. Clearly, I had a general idea of what I was going to do – but nothing beyond run two loops of the park. As you might expect, without a concrete plan it’s pretty tempting to ease back on the pace or shorten the workout 20 minutes into the run.

Now?  Before each workout, I determine the objective (endurance, speed, etc.) for that day and set a target distance and pace accordingly.  I print out the days “work” and bring it to the gym or park.  You might be saying “duh,” but ok, I’m a little late to the game. I’ve found that if someone’s not there pushing me (as might be the case in, say - a boot-camp class) well, that little piece of paper actually does the trick.  Who knew? In fact, while I’m looking at the words and numbers in front of me, I actually push myself harder.

Surprise, surprise, I’m seeing better results and feeling more pain which has to mean one thing…I might just be getting stronger and faster. 

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