12:00 PM - Did a nice walk today before I have to get ready for work and schoolwork stuff. Still finishing up Joe Henderson's An Encyclopedia for the Thoughtful Runner. So much of what he writes is so true and smart. In it he suggests that the average runner can only train for at most 6 months of true "racing" a year, and that your corresponding training should follow the seasons so that you recover in the winter, race in the spring, recover and build slow and steady in the summer, and then race in the fall. I am bypassing spring and using it as a time to just build up and recover. Then summer will be slow and steady again, hopefully back up to 50 or 60 mile weeks in preparations for the October Marathon and my November races. Henderson writes, "The lesson here for all runners may be that we need an occasional training holiday. We might be wise not to wait for nature to demand it with an injury or an illness, but to take it voluntarily" (pp 137) He later goes on to use a quote from Ecclesiastes, "To everything, there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven... a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up." (pp 140) And, from page 155, "[Y]ou don't need to try anything more spectacular than the modest running you already do. You already have such a big lead that almost no one will ever catch you. You don't need to envy other heroes, because you are one." (This quote comes in context from an excerpt where Henderson talks about how less than 1% of people than ran in high school are still running by the time they graduate from college.) I think it helps put into perspective that while even though we will claim it's an individual race to the finish, how it's just us and the clock, we still pride ourselves in being able to call ourselves runners and toting our wall of PRs and finishes with us. We all carry our own invisible trophy case whose stories are shown in bib numbers, finisher medals, and diary entries. And yet at the same time we want to be recognizecd for our commitment and determination with the sport and our training, all those miles to come to some kind of noticing by outsiders. Well, just know that fellow runners and non runners alike do notice everyone's commitment and determination out there, and it has made our sport all the bettr for it I think at least. With that said, did an easy 1 mile warm up walk in 15:00, then 2 miles jogging in 21:28 (10:44 pace), then 1 mile cool down walk. Total Time: 50:41 Total Distance: 4 miles Average Pace: 12:40
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