Friday Ramble 04/08/022
This week: A curious perspective unlocks the promise of potential, a strength training plan for when you’re crunched for time, a non-alcoholic beer that’s actually good for you, plus shoutouts to some amazing RP members.
I’m running 20 miles this morning, which didn’t strike me as particularly special until I sat down to write this week’s Ramble. That’s when it dawned on me that I’m going to be running 20ish miles pretty much every Friday for the next month and a half. (There’s a recovery week in there, which I’m sure will be delightful.)
Generally speaking, the 20-miler is a training milestone and often the longest run of any program. The most 20 milers I’ve ever run in preparation for a race was two, so it was a little jarring to realize I’m scheduled for three in the month of April alone.
Unlike previous 20-mile attempts, I’m not particularly nervous or anxious about this run. In fact, the thought of running that far seems shockingly normal. I’m a bit hesitant to bring all this up because there really isn't anything normal about my running these days.
Already this week, I knocked out eight miles worth of tempo effort during a 14-mile run, along with an “easy” 10-miler, and six sets of pretty gnarly hill repeats in the rain. That’s crazy.
I’m not sharing this to sound like a badass, although you have to admit, it is pretty badass. I’m sharing because my running journey has taken me to this point, and there are times when I can’t believe I’m actually doing these things.
When I think back to where I started from eight years ago, mega-mile weeks with killer workouts didn’t seem possible, or even desirable if we’re being honest. Back then, I was simply hoping to make it through a half marathon in one piece. Nowadays, I run the equivalent distance a couple of times a week and don’t think twice.
While that sounds absurd to most people, even to some runners, it feels perfectly reasonable to me. I think I know the reason why I’ve had this profound change in perspective, but let me tell you a quick story first.
