One month of marathon training is done! Wow, I can’t believe how fast time has gone. I’ve finished four full weeks of training and so far the intensity has been pretty light. I don’t anticipate I will be saying the same thing at the end of the next 30 days. I wrote my training plan, so I know what’s coming.
Base/Conversational pace run
Today was a 6 mile base conversational pace run. Also known as a mid-week long run.
The base run, or conversational pace run, is the staple run in a marathon training program. It not only builds endurance through time on feet, it helps increase the number and density of mitochondria; the powerhouse of your cells that breaks down carbohydrates, proteins and fats into usable fuel. More usable fuel equals more efficient availability of energy for running.
Whenever I’m tempted to pick up the pace on a base run or I start to mentally scold myself for running too slow, I remind myself that I cannot run base runs too slow. If my energy is low that day and I fall below my conversational pace range that I set on my watch then I ignore the watch and run slower. That simply tells me that I went hard on the last workout and my body needs more recovery.
Listen to your body
I hear the phrase “listen to your body” bantered around a lot in running circles but what does that really mean? I believe it is a learning process that comes from experience. As you run more, you learn more about how your body feels when you work hard, fuel well or fuel poorly, get rest or miss too many Z’s.
Messages can come in many forms such as pain, fatigue, twinges, muscle soreness, stomach upset, cramping just to name a few. However, messages can also be positive in the form of increased energy, excitement, the lack of pain and twinges, alertness and an overall positive mood. Then, the goal of the runner is to interpret and decipher what they are reading so that they can make changes or adaptations to move themselves into the positive message area more often.
What is my body saying?
Since I’ve eliminated that pinch in my lower back my body has been much more receptive to my training. Occasionally, I have a twinge or tight calves so I listen to those messages and give them the TLC they need. I’ll foam roll my peroneal muscles (outside of calves) before heading out the door for work and wear compression socks under my dress pants. I’m not afraid to wear ugly shoes either if it means better recovery.
On the run entertainment
I started off today’s run with some music. Then, I switched over to an audiobook I’ve been listening to on mid-week runs called The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series by Jessica Radloff.
The author had been on the local news recently talking about her new book and the news anchor said he had been reading the book and was really captivated by it. I needed something besides podcasts to listen to on mid-week runs, so I downloaded this one. I’m up to chapter 8 and so far I’ve learned about how they shot two pilot episodes and are now attending the launch parties but one of the cast members wasn’t invited. I won’t spoil the story for you by telling you who it was.
It’s very different from the books I normally listen to but it allows me to half listen without missing too much. I still have 15 hours of the book to go, so I think it will pick up now that they’ve shot the second pilot and are getting ready to start the first season. I do enjoy listening to stories about the behind the scenes details such as where the iconic stairwell came from.
Wild animals
The most exciting part of my run came at the very end. As I rounded the corner to my own street I looked over at my house. There was a startlingly large black and white creature wadling down my front walkway. We have a lot of cats in my neighborhood and they tend to like our house but this was not one of them.
I was across the street and was jogging slowly watching the animal leave my property when all of a sudden he spotted me and turned around! He went back up my walkway and started toward the side yard where the cats like to hang out and sleep on the bench.
I changed my direction to follow the stinky fella to make sure that he didn’t find his way onto my patio or into my garage. However, I lost it when it went around the side of the fence. I was grateful that there were no neighborhood cats hanging out at the time. I’ve seen plenty of skunks in my neighborhood before but this was the biggest, fattest, fluffiest skunk I have ever seen.
The raccoons and skunks must be finding their way into lots of cat food bowls around here because we have some huge ones in the neighborhood. No harm though. It seems to have found its way away from my house without leaving a calling card.
Workout
- 6 miles at conversational pace