SIMPLE MATH

Thomas had a good comment when I mentioned that I was switching to Pfitz’s plan, which advocates a day off per week;

I can't believe I'm reading this on the blog of the same guy who once argued that a rest day per week equals nearly 2 missed months of training a year.

First off, you CAN’T argue that a rest day per week DOESN’T equal nearly 2 missing months of training a year. It’s simple math; 1 day per week times 52 weeks equals 52 days of missed training. That’s nearly 2 missed months of training a year.

I know, I know, that’s not what Thomas was getting at. Here are my thoughts; 1) I’ve had success with Pfitz in the past, 2) in the first 3 months of the year I’ve averaged 2 days off a month, so going to 4 days off a month isn’t that much different, 3) running tired and not taking rest days in the middle of winter’s base-building phase is different than not taking rest days when you’re in the heart of your marathon prep, and 4) I’m going to take the approach of one of the people I interview recently who said when he cut his mileage he found that he attacked his workouts harder.

Besides, I can read all I want about running more versus incorporating rest days, but there’s really only one way to find out what works for me. I figure if incorporating a rest day a week, at this point, increases my chances of getting to the start line healthy, fresh and full of gumption, then it’s worth it, especially given my track record for getting a little beat up heading into key races.

Last night I jumped on the treadmill for 11 miles, including 7 at 6:25 pace. That’s probably a tad slow for half marathon pace, but since I’d been running similar workouts at 6:45 pace, I wanted to error on the side of a little too slow. After the workout I realized I was only supposed to run 6 miles hard. Oh well, extra credit.

This morning I woke up to a windchill of 2 degrees! The strong winds literally took my breath away. Luckily I only had to run an easy 5 miles.










This is how a windchill of 2 degrees causes kids to bundle up (actually it was taken earlier this winter).

Quote of the day;

“Not the race, but the runner. The enemy, as always, is within.” – George Sheehan