Would You Like to Stop Running Now?

I got up early for a ten-miler this morning. I was surprised by how much cooler it was this morning (mid-30s), considering that yesterday, even with all of the rain, it was nearly 60 degrees. Today was the first time since last month’s marathon that I ran ten miles. Ten miles is well within my mental comfort zone for an achievable running distance, but after several weeks of shorter runs and a minor calf strain, I knew that this run would not be a “jog in the park,”…..well, actually it was, as I did run in the park. Ordinarily, I rarely stop mid-run, and then only if absolutely necessary. Today I took a different approach and stopped and walked for one minute after every twenty-five or so minutes of running. I felt just as good when I finished running as I did when I started. It worked out that I walked for three minutes. Three minutes may not sound like much, but I do not think I would have felt so good throughout the entire run had I not had the short walking breaks. I have read about this training strategy before, but never tried it because somehow felt I would be cheating myself if I didn’t “run” the entire time. I decided to use this run-walk approach in looking ahead to the 50K. My goal is to finish in an efficient manner and recover quickly. To meet my goal, I do not intend to “run” all thirty-one miles of the event, rather I will take short walking breaks on a regular time and terrain basis.