Every Run Has Purpose

Once, a while back, I did a product review on

RUN SLOW TO RUN FAST.

It sounds a bit cray-cray, but I remember that it completely worked.

You log miles in certain pace zones, and on race day, you blow your own mind.

I haven't done it in a long time though. I have been logging miles in the saddle with N+1.  2nd place Age Group Finishes don't just happen. You kinda have to ride a heckofalotof miles to get that fitness.  And while those miles are great for the lungs and mind, they're not great for run speed. My fitness is here, but my run still feels off balance.

Today I was slugging along at (race pace + 1 min) and I was wondering what possible benefit my run could be doing for my fitness.  I was running on old roads, that is, on familiar territory.  They aren't particularly hilly, nor are there lots of traffic lights to stop me mid stride, which either one would have gone toward explaining the boggy pace. 

The pace just was what it was, because I could not bring myself to run any faster or slower. I was just logging miles because it's Monday, and on Mondays I have a few spare minutes in which to squeeze between 3-6 miles between classes.  The distance is relative to the amount of studying I have, and whether or not our professor lectures "over" her time allowance.

About 4 miles in I realized that the benefit of running at any pace is that it adds to the conditioning of my bones and joints. If I want to log more distance, I have to train my body to hold up while running for longer harder distances. SO, I accepted that even though I was "just" logging miles, I was running slow to run fast.

I was training, whether it felt like it or not. 

And so I added another .8 miles onto my route, and savored the run.