I was slow to leave my bed this morning, slow to find fresh running gear, slow to realise that the porridge was not cooking because I forgot to turn on the cooker at the mains. I was so, so tired. The tiredness has been building over the last two or three days, so I was not surprised that it had come home to roost. It was the kind of morning where I bargain before leaving the bed: I'll just listen to the news, the weather forecast, the traffic report and so on. Needless to say, I am later leaving the house, the traffic is more congested, my run starts later, I am anxious about getting to my desk. Short as today's run was (3 miles), I stopped and started, distracted by my i-pod more than anything else. There was a song I wanted to listen to, but it kept shuffling on to the next song. Anyway, the end result was ... you guessed it ... my run was slow. I either paid the price for the gallop on the later stage of yesterday's run or the continuous training is beginning to take its toll. It's ok. I take pride from the fact that I did it and I take comfort from the realisation that tomorrow is a day of rest from running.
Before I finish, in anticipation of Valentine's weekend, I would like to share the song that distracted me during this morning's run. It's from Imelda May's latest album Mayhem. I love her and I love this song, Kentish Town Waltz. The rhythm and tune are quite nostalgic, almost what your (my) aunts would sing after a drink or two, but just listen to the lyrics. I heard the artist speak in a radio interview about her parents, how they inspired her and, in particular, this song. It speaks volumes about loving and relating and living ... and frees us from the tyranny of perfection. Apt for today's dismal run perhaps. http://www.muzu.tv/imeldamay/kentish-town-waltz-music-video/824748?country=ie&locale=en
Hope you like it.
"Well, you will never run a marathon." Etty suffers from ongoing Sarcoidosis which is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily involves the lungs. Niamh, her sister, likes to run and is going to run the Cork City Marathon on June 6th to raise funds for those suffering from chronic lung diseases. This blog will be a parallel account of their trials and tribulations in the coming months: the would-be marathoner; the mother-of-three moving home and struggling with serious, ongoing Sarcoidosis.
a dismal run perhaps, but a done run nevertheless. Your paces are odd - you run slower when it's a short run than for a long one - I think you're probably a bit like me and most of the time on these shorter runs you are warming up. On the longer ones you can compensate for slow pace early with faster paces further along. It really doesn't matter for these training run: your only goal is to cover the ground continuously at whatever speed. Well that's my philosophy (and Hal Higdon's, too)
ReplyDeleteI love learning about all these running tactics, reminds me of my own efforts to keep the "energy bowls" balanced! Rest well tomorrow!
ReplyDelete@ E, the question of balance is everywhere, I think. Not only is it about balancing energy, but also about balancing time which can be more of a juggling act sometimes. I will post on that one of the days. @ R, I had noted that my paces are odd, except that my champion running brother tells me that is quite normal as you get older. I was telling him that in a series of 2-mile races which I did last Winter, I never felt that I got up any speed and found those races left me unsatisfied. Whereas I did a 10KM, with a savage hill at the beginning, in 50minutes. If I wanted to run to win, I would be attempting nothing less than a 10K. But I'm not going down that road. (Although, sometimes, before a race I have little fantasy moments of taking the whole running world (and myself) by surprise!?) In the beginning of a run, can't you almost feel the 'sludge' of living being broken up and then there is a breakthrough moment. By the end of yesterday's run, I was beginning to pick up speed and I had more energy than when I began. I must start posting more scientifically on the runs too, I think, here.
ReplyDeletemy pace today just confirms your theory, Niamh...odd, I felt good and thought I was slogging along a bit faster than that. My neighbour is doing the Dublin Marathon in October (from a standing start)...hmmm...
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