There are a lot of things that can steer a training program off it’s track. As I finish Week Eight and look ahead to Week Nine of my BEST plan, I am smack-dab in middle of the Christmas and New Years festivities. What makes training and sticking to the plan difficult during these days is the departure from a normal routine. For me during this season, it means family parties and days off from work.
After my 11 miler on Sunday, the plan called for me to run two 6 milers. I dismissed any idea or running on Christmas Eve (Monday) or Christmas Day (Tuesday). When I was a little kid, the day after Christmas used to be my second favorite day of the year (last day of school is the runaway first place winner). I loved December 26th because you still have the large majority of your holiday time ahead of you, and you had the added bonus of all those new toys. So on this December 26th, I knew that I should probably get in one of those 6 milers. But I didn’t really want to do it. I was with my family and comfortable in the Christmas aftermath.
After being inside all of Christmas Day, Patti wanted to get out in the elements for a refreshing walk. When I heard that, my mind quickly rationalized a skipped run. I knew Patti would walk about 5 miles and do so at a pretty good pace. I could join her and skip one of my 6 milers without total guilt. I did join her and we did have a brisk 5 mile walk before lunch. Our pace was close to 15:00 minutes per mile.
The day went on and it finally hit me that taking three consecutive days off from running probably wasn’t a good choice. So I went to the Y and put in a slow 6 miler before dinner. When I was done I was glad that now I could take Thursday off and still complete the week with a 6 miler on Friday morning.
Thursday came and I surprised myself by cancelling the day off and putting in my miles as planned. It was helpful that Maddie wanted to go to the Y for a workout also. For the week, 23 miles planned and completed. If I wanted to count the walk (which I won’t) it would be 28 miles.
The holiday season isn’t over yet. There are more family functions this weekend and I’m just today (Friday) getting back to the office. I have a 13 miler scheduled for the weekend and by running on Thursday, I have some options and should be well rested. I addition to the increase to 13 miles next week, my two mid week runs go up to 7 miles. I have now completed two weeks of the Endurance Phase and the miles will really start to get challenging. 7 miles is a pretty lengthy ‘short run’ for me.
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