That is just my experience of course. If one is happy with feeling as though they plod then they should continue doing it.
Lee, I get the 'plodding' thing completely. I've just gotten back to where sis milers are even part of my vocabulary. Trying to be careful, i've kept my longer runs at slower pace to build stamina. It's boring as all he!!.
I can't remember the thread it's in, but we were discussing knee pain and min/bare running; I just saw an item in a magazine drawing correlation between minimal/barefoot running and prepatellar bursitis (I have it, and it flares on occasion. i had never linked it to my barefoot running knee ache, though...). In my experience the longer slower runs leave me achier than shorter, tempo-based efforts. It does feel more repetitive than faster running. i may move my longer runs entirely to trails so that there is more variability in my movements to see if it makes a difference. Who knows...
Unrelated- I've just found out, at age 38.75 that I have asthma. I'm takng a rest week while I work in the preventative inhaler medication I was prescribed, to get my lungs opened up. I plan to inch my pace up a bit on all runs to lessen that "plodding slog" feelings as my mileage increases (I have some longer races on the horizon: 220 mile team relay, and a trail half-marathon).
Yeah, as a sub-four-minute miler, I would've thought you'd have been the first to sympathize with our frustration with plodding .Lomad,
I completely understand the feeling of tedious or monotinous that is how I feel about running longer distances.
I should add i run without music or podcasts or any such; This makes the less awesome longer runs feel even longer. On the good days, it becomes almost meditative and i love it.
If you are having a bad run day, long or short, there is nothing wrong with calling it quits for the day. I truly believe this but I have a hard time calling it quits myself. I'm stubborn and I almost have a fight with myself about calling it. I hate quitting and it's hard for me to bring myself to do it even though I know there's nothing wrong with it.If you just feel "off " now and then maybe you just need to walk for awhile to sort that out...could be you just need to an easy day and walk for your workout...I do this sometimes and walk instead of run....nothing wrong with that.
I truly believe this but I have a hard time calling it quits myself. I'm stubborn and I almost have a fight with myself about calling it. I hate quitting and it's hard for me to bring myself to do it even though I know there's nothing wrong with it.[/quote said:That's called sorting it out...most of time its just you need to move along and get running but now and then a walk would be better...more sorting it out....don't feel bad about having to sort it out.
I run in the early morning and prefer natural sounds as well, with the birds and insects, and neighborhood rooster.
Have you always run early in the morning Sid? Or did you have to transition into it a bit before it became easy to hit the road soon after waking up?
Yah, I've found that exercise adds time, doesn't take it away. Not only do I sleep better and a little less, but I work better too, so get more done.A year and a half ago, when I first decided to get back in shape, I didn't have a lot of endurance. So, I would do 20 minutes of cardio in the morning and 20 min in the afternoon. I felt pretty rotten the first week or two, almost like I had the flu, but it was just my body adjusting to getting up early. It's sort of like when the clock changes forward for daylight saving.
I've found that when I'm in shape and stick to a cardio routine, I naturally need about an hour less sleep and wake up ahead of my alarm. Maybe I'm lucky, since I essentially get back the time that I spend exercising.
Right now, it's so hot in Florida that it's coolest in the morning, so that's another reason. The afternoon heat and humidity just saps all my energy. Even at dusk, the blacktop is still pretty warm.
As for my morning drink, I mix some whey protein powder with some unsweetened cocoa powder, before I go for my jog. (I'm still watching the carbs until I get back to my goal weight.)
As for morning, as you said, I may have to rough out a transition period before it becomes second nature.
Actually, aren't we in daylight savings right now? But in the winter I'll definitely be running in the afternoon, when it's warmest for BFR. It'd be good to do my other workout stuff in the morning though.You could always wait until Nov 4 for the fall back for daylight saving, and skip the extra hour of sleep.