Follow up on comments; A cold run

ORN: 12.4 miles, R5/W1, 2:04:39, 10:02/mile

First off, kudos to Michelle for being the first to pick up on my reference to Andy Williams in the last post and figure it out. The moon was so bright for Tuesday’s run, I kept thinking about his theme song “Moon River.” Growing up in the 60s, he was my Mom’s favorite singer. She thought this young, dashing guy with the French wife was the epitome of cool and suave. I understand Andy is now singing regularly in Branson, Missouri.

A couple of comments from that post are also worth further discussion. Wes asked which of the Galloway plans I was following. I picked up his “Complete Book of Running” and am using the half-marathon plan with the 1:59 target time. Michelle also commented on having a plan…she has found good luck with making her own plan.

Which got me thinking “Just why use this plan?” I think there are several reasons.

First, I am fascinated by systems. Systems of thought, systems of technique; most any application with a few guiding principles that give way to multiple implementations. Really. I think about stuff like that a lot. You can ask my wife. Why else would I make a detailed temperature chart on how to dress for every 2 degree increment and then publish it??

I’ve been using Hal Higdon's training systems for a couple of years now and they have helped. My ITB injury over the winter, however, really rattled me and I questioned if I needed a change. I was first attracted to the Jeff Galloway plan by it’s hope for lack of injury. Getting into it, I was surprised by its emphasis on speed. I’ve been intrigued by its depth and comprehensiveness. So, I’m going to get into it to see how it works in my world.

Third, I just plain need a coach. Not being in a position to hire a coach, I use a plan as a proxy. I need someone outside of myself to help me improve. So, a plan does that as well.

Michelle’s point on making her own plan is good, yet I would suggest she has a solid coach in her cardiologist, who is helping her pay attention to her heart. That trumps any running coach issues in her case. She’s being very wise in how she handles her own health.

I’ll probably write more on the plan during the spring as I move towards my next target race on June 2.

Today’s long run was part of the Galloway experiment. Conditions were suboptimal, to say the least, with temperatures back into the mid 20s and a stiff 20mph wind out of the NW. As I headed out the door, I commented to my wife about how different Darrell's long run would be today at Huntington Beach, watching surfer dudes, while running in shorts and a tshirt. I suggested I needed to razz him via email. She drily noted that he ought to razz me; I was the one still stuck in the Midwest, whereas he had the intelligence to leave Ohio and move to California!!

The plan called for 12 miles at a pace 2 min/mile slower than my target race pace. That would mean running today at 11:08/mile. Try as I could, I simply could not run that slowly. I tried to slow the turnover but then my mind would drift and back I went. I decided to not worry about it and just enjoy the run. So I did…it was great to be out for over 2 hours, running. At the end, bored with the slow pace, I pushed the final mile, doing it in 8:47. It was encouraging that after 11.5 miles, I could crank a decent mile and still have gas in the tank.

Happy Easter to all of you. It is an important event for me, as a follower of Christ, and I hope the weekend contains some time for personal reflection for each of you.

Persevere.