August 4, 2017August 4, 2017 by Lee Beem

Marathon Training Journal: Day 7

If It's Not Fun, Why Do It?

It's day 7 of my live marathon training journal and it's time to have some fun.

My Sunday run is completely unstructured. It is anything I want it to be. Usually when I leave the house, it's still a blank canvas. I like to merge from the warm-up through to the run itself and just feel my way through it.

This is a day where I intentionally ignore the watch face. It displays the time. That way I know when I need to start heading home.

I also keep my Sunday distance under six miles. How I feel in any given moment while I'm out on the asphalt dictates my next turn, pace, direction … It just has to flow by itself.

Abandoning Rigid Training is Part of Training

Sundays are days when anything can happen. It might be a good speed session or it could be an easy run and anything in between. Most important to me is that I don't have to think about anything related to my run.

I usually feel mentally refreshed, but physically lazy after my recovery day. With my Saturday sins still in my bloodstream, I also have the benefit of some extra calories in me.

There's a relatively new asphalt trail nearby. I don't get to run on it often because it doesn't link up to the routes I like to take and repetitive laps are kind of boring. I can get a 5 mile round trip on this section and then I have to repeat it if I want more distance.

Today was new trail day. It's nice to have a change of scenery. I'm a bit of a city girl. I love asphalt and concrete and twinkly lights. Early in the morning I have a bit of all of the above, without having to stop or wait for traffic. That's something that keeps me off the main roads for the most part. Most people out at that time of a Sunday morning are other runners or dog walkers. It's peaceful. It makes me happy.

I Run Carefree

This is the one day of the week when I don't have to worry about being home by a certain time. There is no pressure on me and I don't have any inclination to add some.

No pacing. No structure. Total freedom. It's what I loved about running when I started. I don't want to lose that.

Today's update is short and sweet, just like my run today. I ran 5 miles at a comfortable pace, spotted a neighbor I haven't seen in a while walking his little dog and strolled back with him.

I'll get some time with my foam roller and Tools That Hurt. I like Sunday runs. And I get wine with my lunch!