I had a reader tell me that I really should change my blog name because I don’t “run” anymore, I do triathlons (yeah, well, there is some running involved in that – especially if you are doing an Ironman – doesn’t 26.2 miles count as running?).
Evidence. Here is me running in a triathlon. This quick leg turn over on a hard surface is running:
Sometimes I like to be very dainty with my pinky while I run.
I have decided, by the way, that the reason one does not swim at the end of a triathlon is that one would drown from fatigue. At least if you are running and fall over your lungs will not fill with water and you will not sink to the bottom of a body of water, never to be heard from again.
The name of my blog naturally means this blog is about running… but to me, the title signifies a greater attitude about life. SOGOTP (Shit Or Get Off The Pot) – meaning that if you want to do something, be it achieve a fitness goal, change jobs, end a relationship, lose weight, stop eating Dots in bed every night (<- note to self), then make it happen without a lot of drama or discussion.
This doesn’t mean one can’t bitch to friends and family about a situation, but at some point the bitching has to cease and the action to promote change has to begin.
Okay, time to shut up and get off my soap box.
Speaking of running, this has been a solid week of training for me.
Monday: Rest, pick nose, eat cookies
Tuesday: 6.5 miles with 8 x 400 at 3k pace
Wednesday: 3 miles easy (with an URGENT stop at a park bathroom at mile 2. If that bathroom had not been there I would have been steeply fined by the HOA)
Thursday: 5 miles easy with Heidi
Friday: 9 miles with 3 x 2 miles @ half marathon pace
Saturday: Bike 21 miles
Sunday: 9.6 miles @ LSD pace (Long Slow Distance, not a hallucinogenic drug, although that sounds fun)
Total: 33.1 miles of running
It feels nice to train like a normal person and not like an Ironman Maniac.
I love speed work and let me tell you why. Even though it hurts and I cuss my way through it and it often makes me feel as if I am going to crap myself, it brings an element of variety and challenge to an otherwise mundane running routine.
S – Suffering
P – Pain
E – Exertion
E – Energy
D – Determination
W – Worthwhile
O – Orgasmic (just kidding, but I couldn’t think of any “O”words)
R – Retching (on occasion)
K – Krapping (on occasion)
I also love SPEED because – and get this – it works. It makes you faster. I have been doing speed work as part of my training solidly since last December. Typically, I will do 1-2 sessions of speed per week. What I have found is that I can run at faster paces more comfortably than I could before (please do not look at my marathon time in the Ironman ((5:19)) because then you will not believe me that speed work might have made me faster).
Need ideas for how to add speed to your running workouts? Go HERE.
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Do you incorporate speed work into your training?
When is the last time you had an “urgent” situation on a run? Before Tuesday, it was on July 31. I had to hide under a bridge. No joke.
How many miles do you typically run per week? Depends what I am training for. With a marathon it us about 40-45. Half marathon probably 30-35.
SUAR