Running Slow – Are We Back?

In the last 7 days, I’ve run 32.5 miles.

It might not sound like much, but that’s the highest weekly total I’ve done in ~18 months. I won’t bore you with the history of the last three years, but an Achilles injury has plagued me.

The one thing I’ve never been good at while training is running slow. This is important when you’re injury prone. I’ve never committed to running slow (read, ‘easy‘) in training. I usually start blasting music and run fast three or four days a week. That’s not a sustainable way to train.

So about four weeks ago I committed to training slow. I bought a Garmin 245 Music (which is great (thanks Jamie)) and try to keep my heartrate below 150 on most runs, which usually comes to 7:45 – 8:00 miles. I’ve been able to log five runs in seven days and feel healthy while doing it. My Achilles isn’t cured (right term?) but it’s being managed well.

Goals are important! So let me log some here:

Short Term (2021):

• Run 40 miles in one week
• Do a planned workout – I haven’t done a ‘real’ workout during the pandemic
• Run a race (even a time trial) – I haven’t raced since Philly 10k in October 2019.

Mid Term (2022):

• Run 200 miles in a month
• Run sub 16:30 in a road 5k

If I can achieve the 2021 goals, then I have a chance for the 2022 goals. And if I can do the 2022 goals, then there might be a full on renaissance. But here’s a start.