Long Runs Before Work
Life has gotten crazy. Long runs before work crazy.
With plans on the weekends and longer hours in the office during the day, training got a little hairy for a bit. I only missed a single workout since starting my training cycle 12 weeks ago, and it was because of an unhappy back muscle, not a scheduling fiasco.
In July, every single one of my long runs was on a Tuesday or Thursday morning before work. And I mean loooong runs. Eight, nine, 10, and 12 all done before hobbling my way to my desk. At first the thought made me shiver with horror. Get up early, suffer through more miles than I had done total in a week only a few weeks ago, and then sit (and stand at my standing desk) all day at work?
No Thanks!
But it turned out it wasn’t that bad. I’m lucky that I have a flexible start/end time, a comfortable shower at the office, and active coworkers who totally get why I was exhausted and experiencing extreme runger. I hate to say it, but by the time I got around to having to run 12 miles, it wasn’t a big deal anymore and it felt kind of normal. I would still struggle to psyche myself up a bit before strapping on my sweet hydration belt and I didn’t care for my alarm clock very much (not that that’s any different from every other day), but once I was going it wasn’t too bad.
I ran the whole dam trail. All 12 miles of it. Almost time for taper! #running #runchat #seawheeze #SeenOnMyRun A photo posted by Mandy Ferreira (@treading_lightly) on
The best part? I ran most of my long runs in a fashion similar to how my upcoming race will be, in the morning about an hour after eating breakfast. Second best? Not having to take hours out of my weekend. Sleep in time? Oh yes.
[…] Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make. For the first time in four half marathon training cycles, I finished every damn workout (except for one). […]