Week 6 Run 3 -- To Start Week 6 Off with -- a bit slowly.

[gary_bart]

As announced, I cheated today, and skipped ahead to Run 3 of Week 6. I have obtained special permission to do so by sticking on Week 5 for a very long time. So then I didn't cheat did I? OK, so as usual then that means I lied. Always seems to be one of the two.

I took it really slow, both to guarantee that I made it, and to make sure that my tight hip that develops during a night's sleep (and goes away if I run) doesn't turn into some full-blown injury. In the early part I had to take it even slower for a bit. I picked up some naughty, friendly dogs, who'd escaped out their gate, and slowed to a walk so as to put them off the idea of coming with me for a run (and getting lost or run over on the roads I run on). I must say that friendly dogs that want to come and run with you are a lot nicer problem than vicious dogs slamming into the door that is preventing them from stopping your annoying running, using only their teeth.

One thing that becomes less and less of a problem even in the relatively short space of this course (and this would be for Everyone) is that hills become less of a problem. Nevertheless, this new route of mine has a really steep hill in the middle of it. That's my other excuse for the slow time.

Crazy, isn't it? Here's someone who was struggling with Week 3, not long ago at all, now being disappointed at having gone slowly rather than being pleased at managing a 25 minute non-stop run. I logged about 3.4 km by the start of the cool-down, and I've done better than that before (although I felt like hell afterward, and didn't enjoy the run at all for a change).

Oy! You! (Me, that is) You just ran for 25 minutes, you idiot! That was impossible at the beginning of this year. Eternally, fundamentally impossible. As impossible as a sunrise in the West.

Hmm... yes ... No, all right, it was a pretty good run then (apart from the tiny detail that I enjoyed it).

I suppose what I'm trying to say in my long-winded way is: Don't go shifting your own goalposts.

Gee, I even "finished on a high" when Laura asked me to.

[Ugifer]

I'm not quite sure who you are cheating and at what, but it sounds like you had a good run - so well done!

Keep it up!

Ugi

[gary_bart in reply to Ugifer]

Thanks Ugi. I went straight to run 3 without having the decency to first do runs 1 and 2. That's the "cheat". (And if you do Week 5 four times - as I have - that's enough to make this quite a modest milestone. It's not quite like graduating from week to week on time.)

But yes, the main thing is I ENJOYED the run. (The run I didn't enjoy was a previous one in which I did "better" - more distance, grumbling all the way).

[Ugifer in reply to gary_bart]

"Better" is a subjective term!

I would maintain that for a training run a "better" run is one that you want to repeat, either because you achieved something notable or just because you enjoyed it. A "better" race might be different.

In any case, it's good that you had an enjoyable run - and good luck with the rest of the program.

[gary_bart in reply to Ugifer]

I like that definition, yes. And thanks.