Enjoying My Running

I’ve been enjoying running this week more than I have in awhile. There are two main reasons for these positive feelings. One is that by starting my marathon program I’m getting more excited about racing. I haven’t raced in a long time, and now that I’m working towards a definite goal, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Although with sixteen weeks to go, the light is still pretty faint. The other reason is that I’ve started running as soon as I get home from work. I used to get home, relax and watch King of the Hill (one of my favorite shows), and then get ready to run. By the time I got out the door, it was close to 6:00 p.m. With sunset coming earlier each day, I was finishing almost all my runs in the dark. Running in the daylight is much more pleasant.

I was thinking there is one major way that running is like golf. Both sports can give you a short memory. When I golfed, I’d hit my drive in the trees, hit the next shot across the fairway into the rough, and then somehow hit a solid shot onto the green. That one good shot would make me feel like I was really improving and becoming a decent golfer. I’d forget about all the bad shots before or after. One good shot would carry me for two or three holes. Now when I run, I can struggle with meeting my goals or getting through long runs, but one good run, I suddenly I’m on the way to great improvement.

On Wednesday, I had one of those runs that make a runner feel good about where they are in their training, and more importantly, where they’re going. I ran twelve miles at a faster pace than I’ve run that far in training for a while. It wasn’t too fast, but was at the fast end of the medium-long pace recommended by the McMillan Calculator. Now I just need to remember that part of that successful run was getting a good night’s sleep and eating right. If I can continue to bring together rest, fueling and consistency, I have a good shot at reaching the running future that Wednesday’s run showed me was possible.