I had a revelation of epic proportions this weekend.
While I have been thrilled with the fact that I finally found my Zone 2 sweet spot so I can do proper LSD base training, I have been not so thrilled with the fact that it is a walking pace.
It has been, to be honest, a serious emotional letdown.
Because I've finally been doing all this running, ya know? And here I am, stuck walking. So the whiny little kid in my brain has been bitching and moaning that we're not going to make any real progress in running if we're not running.
Apparently my recent understanding of LSD concept wasn't enough of a clue. But this weekend I guess I got hit with a clue stick in my sleep, because I woke up and suddenly everything made sense and I'm not so sad about walking my LSD any more.
I finally GOT IT.
Right now any running at all - even a 14:30 plodding jog - sucks donkey balls. After just 1-2 miles it is harder than hell and keeping it up beyond that becomes a matter of sheer force of will. And this is what I've called success.
This whole time I've been thinking I need to do more of that - that horrible torturous forcing myself to go on - in order to make progress.
But I've been reading other tri blogs for over a year now, and I always wondered why my slow runs sounded like other people's crazy fast runs. This disconnect settled into the back of my brain and grew into a clue... which finally burst out and smacked me upside the head.
So, thank you thank you thank you. To everybody who has written about running. To everybody who has given me the - I now understand - extremely solid advice that I need to be walking right now. Seriously - thank you. I GET IT NOW.
I get that I won't make progress in my distance running by engaging in personal torture. I get that by sticking with LSD for a good while I will be able to engage in actual running, and not the miserable exercise in self-flagellation I've been doing. I get that this is what will not just make me achieve my goals for next year - it's what will ultimately make my wildest triathlon dreams come true.
Seriously - thanks guys. I don't think I'd have ever figured it out without your help.
4 comments:
Good for you, I'm glad you may have found the key to your obvious future success. I also decided that rather than try to kill myself for a new 1-mile PR a little at a time, I'll back off on intensity to build endurance. Your lightbulb must have been really bright to get to me!
Glad that you've figured it out! I was (am?) the same way, pounding away at my "LSD" runs, trying to figure out why I'd crash and burn at the same point. Hopefully as these distances get longer, I get better at not killing myself in the beginning and holding back so that the last bit isn't so miserable.
Good girl!
Like Oprah says "it was a light bulb moment!" :)
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