File this one under: Maybe Dale Bozzio was right.
Yesterday, I completed Week #4 of the Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan. I must confess that I’m rather proud to get this done considering all the snow and cold temperatures that we’ve been having the last month or so. (Most days, we’re lucky to see it near 35 °F – and more than a days it was around 15 °F when I was out there.)
The last two times I was running the program, I noticed something about myself. I seem to do much better when I’m running towards a destination, as a goal, than I do when I’m running for a set time or distance interval. By this, I mean, if I tell myself “Your goal on this run is to get to the stop sign on the corner of Main Street and Park Place,” it seems like it’s “easier” and I have more drive/follow-through than when I tell myself “OK, it’s 9:15. So, run until 9:20″ or if I tell myself “Run for 500 strides.”
Maybe it’s a “guy thing” and I just respond better to having a visual goal (or finish line)?
Also, I noticed that I seem to be able to hit an extra gear, and have more energy/effort, on that last run just before I get back home. That too could be because “home” is an actual destination. I don’t know, for sure, why? But, for my last few sessions, it does seem like I have more “push” on that last run.
Perhaps the true test of all this will be the end of Week #5? That’s where you have to run/jog for two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking breaks for the first time. By this time next week, I should have my answer.
