The darkness of autumn mornings is making my training a challenge. I cannot bring myself to go out running alone more than a half hour prior to daybreak. I leave my apartment at 6:15, 15 minutes before first light, and return just before 7:00. That gives me just enough time to run to the lake, do the 3 mile loop, run back up to my place, stretch and have a recovery shake before I need to start getting ready for work. The distance I should be running is 5 miles, but there simply isn’t enough time in the morning for me to run that far before work… unless of course I can suddenly become twice as fast.
Speaking of becoming faster, I’ve started to incorporate some speed work. It happened by accident really. There was an older woman in front of me, who was just jogging slightly slower than me. I passed her and then got tired of hearing her footsteps behind me so I sped up. I thought she was going faster to keep up with me, but about a quarter mile later (after realizing that I was working far too hard to sustain that pace much longer) I looked back and realized it was a completely different person altogether. I chuckled a little to myself. I slowed and watched her pass, out of breath. Once I caught my breath, I wanted to try it again. This time, without the pressure of someone behind me, I felt free to just let it out and go twice as hard. It was great! I wasn’t sprinting, but my legs were happy and my body felt completely natural in the longer stride – save for the burning in my lungs. When I slowed after about a hundred meters, I found it very difficult to catch my breath again. I was afraid that I might have to walk to recover but mentally refused to let that happen. I probably could have finished the loop much faster if I’d taken that walk break, but I’m trying to build better cardiovascular fitness. Just like when I go out dancing and one of my favorite songs come on, I have to push through to the end of it no matter how much energy I blew in my initial frenzied excitement.
The Wildcat Canyon trail ride really helped to put things in perspective. My thighs burned so bad while climbing those hills that I think it may have increased my threshold for pain. I suffered so much that day. The fact that my companion barely broke a sweat was just irritating. After that experience I swore that I would incorporate hills into my daily commute, but I have yet to act on that thought. I’m considering hitting a hilly route home (more than just considering actually).
Today is day three of wearing the Five Finger shoe. Like many, Born to Run influenced me to give them a try. After noticing some runners wearing them as they whiz past me on my morning runs, I finally caved. I haven’t run in them yet because my toes are not very happy with them yet. My pinky toes are particularly upset with the shoes. The knuckles of those toes are very tender. The inside edges of my big toes are a bit sore as well. It’s weird to walk around with fabric between your toes all damn day. What is even stranger is that my toes are all developing a dislike for my regular shoes now. I might become one of those people who wear sandals all year long. Goddamn hippies.
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