Marathon Training : Week Three / Flexibility

Running Recap:

• Sunday / 3 Miles / Interval Training (fun fact: my interval average pace has decreased 22 seconds per mile since I started this training four weeks ago, and my max heart rate has decreased from 102% to 95% so...there might be something to this) 
• Monday / 5 Miles / Trails & Hills 
• Tuesday / 3 Miles / Easy 
• Wednesday / 6 Miles / Pace 

Life is a lot like yoga.  Relax, be flexible...and try not to fart.  

A dear friend sent me a greeting card with these profound words of wisdom.  To be fair, she's never practiced yoga with me, so she doesn't know about my bean and broccoli burrito issues.  Flexibility is the name of the game for my training this week.  When planning a vacation with my bestie Beth a few months ago, I knew it would have to happen early in my training and specifically picked this weekend because it's the lightest week of my entire plan.  She was happy to accommodate, even though I realize just now this is her 11th wedding anniversary weekend (my sincerest apologies to her husband, you're a good man, Scooter, and congrats to you both, I love you!).  Hal Higdon says in my training plan "You can skip an occasional workout, or juggle the schedule depending on other commitments, but do not cheat on the long runs."  Fair enough, Hal, I can handle that buddy when my long run is a six-miler.

That said, runners are extreme creatures of habit.  We don't like change.  We always wear the same socks, we don't like changing chub rub brands, we eat the same meal the night before every long run and the same breakfast every single morning before a run (chunky peanut butter toast, one banana and one cup of coffee precisely two hours before start time, fyi if you're looking for the magic).  There are way too many other factors, namely weather and your legs, that can screw with your brain which you have no control over to let the things you CAN control go all willy-nilly.  I don't like running in the early morning, I don't like taking lunch breaks at work, let alone going for a run on my lunch, and my long runs are on Saturday mornings.  Period.  But flexibility was the intention and man, I lived it this week.  And I am not going to lie, this week's training was pure joy!  Keep in mind, I've run eight of the last nine days.  And it's been an average of 80% humidity for every single run this week.  I should have been miserable.  I had total control of the out of control and I loved it!

We are tied to what we hate or fear. 

~Swami Prabhavananda     

I believe by being flexible with my schedule and expectations, I truly made the most out of this week's training.  Rather than feeling like I had to get these runs out of the way, I was blessed with the opportunity to shake things up.  Just don't mess with my peanut butter toast/banana/coffee pregame.    

The next time the week (or month, or year) ahead isn't exactly looking to play out the way you'd ideally want it, take a step back.  Be flexible with the "have-to's" and look at them more as "get-to's."  The flexibility will free you and allow the joy to flow!  

This is what goes through my head on EVERY run.  

Week Four's Intention: Rhythm