In the Running
This has been one heck of a winter here in old Tronna for runners & cyclists, I have to say. It's freezing rain out there tonite, but up until now we've been having one of those freakishly warm winters that gets the gloabal warming crowd into a lather. Not much snow either, which means my primary running route, the bike path through Taylor Creek Park and the Don Valley, is open for business. This is unusual. Last year there was 2 feet of snow and ice on the path, which made it difficult to run on. Not impossible, but frustrating and kind of weird. Like skating with dull skates. On bad ice.
The timing could not have been better, what with this IronMan thing. Last sunday was clear & cold (but not too cold) and a perfect day for a 20k run. Which I did. This time last year I think I might have been running 10k every couple of weeks with nothing mid-week. Not exactly a recipe for IM success, so this year I've been pleased with the spring-like conditions in January & February.
The downside is that there is never an excuse to not go for a scheduled run. Every weekend has been nice enough to get out and do it and so luckily (and sometimes reluctantly) I've been out every weekend and able to put some decent mileage in. But it's hard - I don't know how guys like Ed Whitlock do it. There's a guy who is 70+ years old and who reportedly still runs every day, sometimes for hours at a time. I don't think my body could take it even if I didn't die of boredom. Every day? It's superhuman. Then again Ed holds the Canadian & world records for a bunch of different distances in a bunch of different age groups above 60 years old. A sub 3 hour marathon last year too, something that I bet will never happen to me at any age. The guy is truly awesome.
My point about 'reluctantly' putting in the miles might sound strange, but it's a fact that I've never been a huge fan of the running. It's too much like work, especially compared to the bike. You can't stop pedalling when you're running unless you want to fall on your face. For the first 4 or 5 years of this athletic trip I've been on since '99 I did not like to run. Only once in a long while did I truly enjoy going out, and only once did I ever get that endorphin rush, the mythical 'runner's high' you hear about. That was in a half marathon at about the half way point, cruising along the Rosedale Valley road on a nice fall day. I suddenly noticed that my breathing seemed to be slowing right down and everything got all kind of floaty for about 15-20 seconds, sort of like slow motion almost. It was nice. Then it was over and I was back running again. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted but it's never happened since.
Lately though I have noticed that I'm almost enjoying the long runs, especially on some of those beautiful spring days we've been blessed with this year. So maybe things are looking up.
The timing could not have been better, what with this IronMan thing. Last sunday was clear & cold (but not too cold) and a perfect day for a 20k run. Which I did. This time last year I think I might have been running 10k every couple of weeks with nothing mid-week. Not exactly a recipe for IM success, so this year I've been pleased with the spring-like conditions in January & February.
The downside is that there is never an excuse to not go for a scheduled run. Every weekend has been nice enough to get out and do it and so luckily (and sometimes reluctantly) I've been out every weekend and able to put some decent mileage in. But it's hard - I don't know how guys like Ed Whitlock do it. There's a guy who is 70+ years old and who reportedly still runs every day, sometimes for hours at a time. I don't think my body could take it even if I didn't die of boredom. Every day? It's superhuman. Then again Ed holds the Canadian & world records for a bunch of different distances in a bunch of different age groups above 60 years old. A sub 3 hour marathon last year too, something that I bet will never happen to me at any age. The guy is truly awesome.
My point about 'reluctantly' putting in the miles might sound strange, but it's a fact that I've never been a huge fan of the running. It's too much like work, especially compared to the bike. You can't stop pedalling when you're running unless you want to fall on your face. For the first 4 or 5 years of this athletic trip I've been on since '99 I did not like to run. Only once in a long while did I truly enjoy going out, and only once did I ever get that endorphin rush, the mythical 'runner's high' you hear about. That was in a half marathon at about the half way point, cruising along the Rosedale Valley road on a nice fall day. I suddenly noticed that my breathing seemed to be slowing right down and everything got all kind of floaty for about 15-20 seconds, sort of like slow motion almost. It was nice. Then it was over and I was back running again. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted but it's never happened since.
Lately though I have noticed that I'm almost enjoying the long runs, especially on some of those beautiful spring days we've been blessed with this year. So maybe things are looking up.
posted by carbonman at 10:58 PM
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