What is it about a good long run that can make all your problems disappear, at least temporarily? Today I wanted to talk a little about the magic of the long run, but also share my workouts from last week.
First off, I hope all of you who celebrated had a nice Christmas! I am sort of wondering what day it is and it’s only going to confuse things further that I am posting my weekly wrap on a Tuesday. It’s a good thing I started drafting this last week, otherwise I probably wouldn’t remember anything that happened before Christmas!
Monday: Strength Training and 20 minutes spin bike
I had run 7 miles of Sunday, so I moved things around so that I would have a day off of running.
I also shared my #2017bestnine on Instagram! Lots of pictures representing my return to running.
Tuesday: 6 mile fartlek run
I did the same workout that I completed about 3 weeks ago. 10 minute warm up, 5 x 3 minutes hard with 1 minute easy, 7 x 1 minute hard with 45 seconds easy, 10 minute cool down. (Last time I did 6 of the 1 minute intervals, this time I added another). My times were slower than a few weeks ago and my legs just didn’t want to move any faster. But fartlek runs are all about effort, and I gave it what I could on that day.
Wednesday: Strength training and 10 minutes spin bike
Rob is getting back on a workout schedule before he starts training for a spring marathon, so he asked me to start his plan for last week. We were both in the basement for our workouts which I think he hated. I was making comments about his effort on the bike and his strength training exercises. I know he will appreciate all the tough love when he meets his goals this spring:)
Thursday: 4 miles easy
Just an easy 4 to get moving for the day. As you will see this week was all thrown off but I wasn’t sure exactly how the rest of the week would play out so I figured it was better to get in a few miles.
Friday: 12 miles
Finally, a good long run! I took Friday off from work and saw that it was supposed to rain on Saturday. I was also thinking about how much running I would want to do on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and while traveling (stress relief!). So by moving my long run to Friday, I could take off Saturday and then jump right back into things.
Saturday: Rest day
I did do some core work and mobility work, knowing I may slack a bit next week!
Sunday: 8 Mile Negative Split Workout
I love going back to this workout when I am looking to do something different for about 8-10 miles. I think my GPS was being weird during the 2nd mile because in the beginning part of the mile it was telling me I was running a 5-something pace! Overall it was a great run.
Somehow I hit 30 miles for the week! That’s my highest weekly mileage all year.
Enjoying The Magic of the Long Run
Raise your hand if you use running to relieve stress. I know many of you are with me on that. While the short, day to day runs definitely help to manage stress, there is something different about the long run. There’s this feeling that goes along with it that is just hard to explain. I think it’s based more on mindset than distance.
Over the past 3 weeks my “long runs” were 6 miles, 7 miles, and 12 miles. During the 6 and 7 milers I was dragging and just trying to get it done. However, during the 12 miler it was such a different experience. The feeling where you are just running step after step and you aren’t even quite sure what mile you are in but you are somewhat aware of where you need to run to cover your planned distance.
My last real long run (11 miles) was on December 1st. That’s 3 weeks during one of the most stressful months of the year. I felt like during Friday’s run I was just running off all the stress of the month and preparing myself for the approaching holidays.
Appreciating The Magic of the Long Run
It really made me wonder how I got through all those months without running (long runs in particular) over the last year. It shows that we are resilient and can figure out other ways to cope. But I don’t think there is any replacement for the long run euphoria. I got back from my run just so thankful that I am able to experience these feelings again.
You may also like:
How to Maintain and Enjoy Your Workout Routine During the Holidays
Do you think there is a magic to the long run?
Have you been running to relieve stress during the holidays?
How were your workouts last week?
All summer long, I was looking for that magic! I finally found it at my last half marathon.
It can be tough to find but there is nothing like it!!
Running is my stress relief, but also a well needed calorie burner during the holidays 🙂 Too many cookies and fudge. But the new year always brings some consistency with both training and diet, so I look forward to that. PS, I saw your pic on the strength training plan for Tina. Cool!
Yes, this time of year just seems like its all over the place. I ran quite a bit early in the week to get through the holidays, while not sleeping well or eating well, and now Im paying for it with a cold.
I am still so glad you love that workout! If I ever get outside again to run (my goodness it’s so cold!), I will definitely remember to bring that workout back. Not that it wouldn’t work on the treadmill – I bet it would be great inside too!
I definitely agree it would make a good treadmill run!
This makes me want to run long! I have all this time off work and I haven’t run long yet. It needs to be fixed…
I hope you get to do one this week! (Even though it’s ridiculously cold out…)
There really is nothing like an awesome long run where you feel like you could keep going and there’s no worries about anything. It’s been a while for me, but I love that feeling!
It really is the best feeling!
Totally late to the party (how did I miss this post???). I appreciate the long runs, too, but I don’t do many of them solo anymore. I do kind of miss that all-for-me time…but I also love having someone to chat with and bounce ideas off of, too.
I’ve only ever done long runs with Rob, and while its nice to have someone to talk to, I think I prefer doing the long runs alone. Luckily we are fine with running in silence if neither of us feel like talking:)
Love this! And 30 miles in one week is a lot!
I’m planning to complete a long run (for me) of anything over 10 miles at some point in the next couple days…it’s making me super anxious but I keep reminding myself to not worry about the pace!
One thing I love about long runs is not worrying about pace! I feel like I can just settle into what feels comfortable and not look at my watch.
For sure! At some point this year I got to the place where I see a 14-mile easy pace run on my weekend calendar and think…ahhh, that will be nice to relax into that for a couple of hours. So weird.
It is weird but so true! I love just being able to run for a long time without worrying too much about anything else.
I have not had one of those amazing really long runs in a while but I hope to be building back up to them soon. They are pretty amazing when they come together
I think they are even better after you haven’t had one for awhile! I hope you can enjoy one soon.
Definitely magic there. And in this weather it’s what I’ve been missing. Treadmill long run has no magic for me.
It’s been so long since I have done a long run on the treadmill but I don’t think it would be at all the same as running outside.
I’m in New York so with my work schedule, early dark and weather this week, it has been treadmill or no run. The Mile High classes help with “don’t wanna” days, which is good
Running definitely is stress relief and the long runs are especially to do just that… I often approach a longer run with much less ambition that shorter ones and then often surprise myself 🙂
I do the same thing! I try not to work myself up too much about the long run but it usually ends up going better than expected.