Run 23, 2008

Today after work I ran 7 km in 47:15 for a 6:45 pace. I’m working really hard these days to lose more weight and I am beginning to succeed. We shall see. I make no quantitative statements until I see some genuine results.

Anyway, I got back from my run just as the sun was setting. It was really nice for a change to run in the warmth and sunshine and without bulky winter gear.

I am gradually becoming aware of something else too. In hindsight, last year I seemed to really struggle to run at a reasonable pace and I now realize that I must have been over-trained. I did not rest enough between runs. Now that I am trying three runs per week, I am getting a lot more rest and my pace and energy seems to be increasing a great deal. Before, I was running 4 days a week and trying to follow training guidelines.

My point, I guess, is that no matter how much you read, study, and try to follow established training guidelines you will have to find your own path. You pretty much have to get to know your own body and how it responds to training to be able to maximize the benefits. For beginners, I would have to recommend doing less rather than more to achieve the best results. For me, that path seems to be no more than 3 (one long and two shorter) runs per week. I am not counting the really short 2 km or less runs that I do occasionally on the days when my longer runs are not scheduled, but I am still experimenting with that.

I think I did so poorly last year in my 5peaks trail series because I was over training and just too tired to do well. Time will tell if my new 3 day training routine will help me relative to last year. Beginners take note.