Wednesday 10/2 - A mixed up session

Time: ~38mins
Distance: 4.9 miles

Something a little different tonight. I had got in from work quite late and thus had (sadly) missed the gorgeous sunlight. Was in work watching it fade to darkness and could almost hear "Adagio for Strings" playing in the background...

So anyway when I got in I went out and did a kind of mixed up session, which went something like:

800m jog
~1mile @ 7.45min/mile pace
400m jog
8.30min/mile run uphill for approx 2mins
~800m @ 8min/mile pace
8.10min/mile run uphill for approx 2.5-3mins
~1m @ 8min/mile pace + 2-3min uphill @ 7.50min/mile
800m jog

Ok, so the distances there might be a little messed up, but the general idea was jog-brisk-uphill brisk-brisk-uphill brisk etc etc. I was quite tired at the end though so that's a good thing...and when I sat down on the sofa about 5 mins ago for the first time today it felt as though a great weight had come off of my legs. Good stuff.

I sometimes look at the runnersworld training schedules and imagine how I could factor those kinds of runs into my schedule. To be honest I don't think I can. Some of the training plans (for a marathon) involve about 5 runs per week, incl one on Sat and one long run on Sunday. I wouldn't do a short easy run the day before a long run - especially a long run over about 10 miles. Is that weird? I just don't think it's good for the legs or the mind, really. Plus my weekends are usually jam packed - between studying and doing errands and trying to relax I barely have time for the long runs!!

Something else I don't do is I never get my midweek long runs up to the ten miles they suggest. Somehow I never have the time when I get in, and when I do have the time to run ten miles I'd rather keep going and make it a longer run. Maybe it doesn't make sense, but I consider myself a kind of "flexible runner". I have a rough plan of what I want to do in my head but rarely stick to any of it besides the length of the long run.

Ah well, guess that's the most important aspect of the marathon training anyway...