Back in January I signed up to have Adam from @theboringrunner (www.theboringrunner.com) coach me in my running. Up until that time, I had been only going for runs, and not really training. I never thought that there was much difference, but Adam showed me that there is a difference. How big a difference? Well, I think that part is largely up to your coach, your relationship with your coach, and ultimately YOU.
Adam and I wrote back and forth online, wherein I told him what my goals were for 2012, he asked me what some of my PR’s were, and he asked if I had any restrictions on my training, either physically or as it related to the calendar. Those questions answered and items discussed, Adam sent me my first training schedule. It had become “real”. I admit that I was apprehensive at first, but this apprehension quickly turned to gut wrenching fear comfort, knowing what my next week would look like, being able to plan ahead, and keeping track of my progress with his clever spreadsheet. I glommed onto the dailymile community for tracking my runs and to hold myself accountable to the schedule.
My followers will know that lately I have had a rough time getting out of my own head, and for a week or so I had a tough time staying in the running groove. Adam, Colleen (@tryn2bfit), and numerous other online pals have helped get me back into the groove. Several conversations with Tracey (@shedoesnthaveatwitteraccountyet) have helped me to become a bit more comfortable asking for time to run, and I have become more flexible and forgiving with my running schedule; used to be i would ONLY run in the morning. When i couldn’t (mostly because I overslept), I would beat myself up all day over it. Now i just run at night before bed. Not the ideal time, but it beats not running at all. Right?
I have noticed a few things along the way: 1) I sleep better on nights when I have run during the day 2) My mood is more consistent (in a good way) when my runs are more consistent 3) being consistent with my runs/workouts is the key to success. My sporadic runs of the past served a purpose, but didn’t necessarily move me closer to my goals. At least not efficiently.
So that’s what i’ve been up to in terms of training. I’ll be sharing a few more details and thoughts coming up soon. Other fun things cooking in my head, too. I’ll bet you can’t wait….
Gene
I notice the same thing with Eric -- his moods are much better if he gets his workouts in. It messes with his chemical balance not to get the adrenaline and his psyche to fail to live up to his own expectations. I like how you are giving yourself some flexibility. BE KIND TO GENE, GENE.
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