I realized this morning as I was heading out to the gym at 5:30AM that I really wasn't looking forward to the hum-drum boredom of what was quickly becoming my '5-mile duty' on the treadmill. I asked myself if my running had lost its purpose. After all, I had planned and trained for my first full marathon for 16-weeks and now that I have that behind me, I was feeling kind of lost. I also noticed that I wasn't feeling as excited logging my running workouts into my Garmin Connect account because I was classifying them as 'fitness' rather than 'training' events.
Could I possibly be suffering from Post Marathon Training Syndrome (PMTS)? Perhaps… It's been less than a month since I achieved a goal that I had dreamed of completing for more than 3 years. Certainly, it's understandable that I'd be feeling out of sorts, right?
So, as I was driving to the gym I realized that I needed to mix things up a bit today so I decided to run intervals. I stayed away from intervals during my marathon training based on advice I read for first time marathoners (especially those of us who are in their 50's) – I just wasn't willing to take on the risk of injuring myself.
But, today is a new day and I'm at a new stage with my running. I have a marathon behind me. I've already accomplished that goal. I can cross that objective off my bucket list.
Yes, running intervals was just what I needed today. The time on the treadmill passed quickly and I felt completely energized after my workout and through most of the day. Today I challenged myself to run 6x100 intervals with a 1-mile warm up and a 1-mile cool down. Certainly not the most rigorous interval set but it's a start.
Run: Intervals by jbaker614 at Garmin Connect - Details
So, in the spirit of continuous improvement and staying motivated, I hereby commit to run intervals once a week. No excuses. Thursdays will be the day – Interval Thursdays!
Happy and Safe Running,
John
No comments:
Post a Comment