Thursday, December 22, 2005

Run, run, run, run, run

I ran an 18 miler on Sunday. I was anticipating that it would be a disaster since I've had a couple of problems of running out of energy on shorter long runs lately, including a horrid bonking at 12 1/2 miles on one run and barely squeaking out 14 on another. That's really just prep on my part...the previous days run was too hard for me at this point and just not enough fuel reserves. This time around I took it easy the day before (5 miles only) and deliberatly kept the pace down on the 18 (about 8:40/mile). I got back home after 17 miles and still had reserves left so I did an extra mile in the park...no problems.

I don't stop during my runs. Sometimes in the summer on very long runs the heat can get to me and I've got to stop and catch some breeze to cool off. Or a shoelace gets untied, or I've got to take a nature break. The running world can be viewed in two segments...those who take walk breaks...and those who don't. I'm in the latter category. I see walking during runs as removing some of the satisfaction and it's detrimental to training. I know the proponents and what they say "it prevents injury, it let's you go further than you otherwise would, it prevents bonking" yada yada. None of it is particularly true, all can be managed by pure running and training. Walk breaks introduce a bad habit, and one that can be very difficult to get out of. Beginners should do it because it helps get their bodies accustomed to running and getting the distances in they need to promote early development. If they ran only as far as they could they wouldn't get very far and wouldn't get out very often. Other than that, don't bother.

Once you get used to running without stopping, it's like everything else, you adapt to it, your body adapts to it, it becomes natural and normal. You'll be able to hold a pace for the duration instead of only 8-10 minutes at a time. Recovery will come around, the thought that it 'promotes recovery' is bogus. It only 'promotes recovery' because it 'reduces training', so there's less training to recover from. If someone did that 18 miler I did taking a break every 10 minutes, or even longer when it comes time to take a gu or fiddle with the fuel belt for a while, they're not getting out of it what I did. I did that run because I can, anything else just wouldn't measure up.

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