What's the frequency?

Thoughts on tuning in to your body and managing feedback

The first steps of your run are the hardest. We all know that. After a long layoff, or at the beginning of a new training cycle, or even just on your normal everyday run, the first steps are always the most difficult. That’s when you begin to process not only what you’re doing in the moment, but what you’re about to do in the future. 

Some days you may feel tight and sore or tired and unmotivated. Other times you may feel fresh as a daisy and ready to rock your run. Either way, you’re still starting from scratch, just like always. 

The other day, I went out for a fairly difficult run: a 9-mile aerobic progression where I started at an easy clip for the first three miles, gradually moving through the effort zones from somewhat hard in the middle three miles to comfortably hard tempo effort during the final three. 

Most of the time, I do runs like these on non-technical rolling dirt paths so I can tap into speed without having to worry about safety (i.e. tripping over a rock and going splat.) This run was on a moderately technical trail where efficiency is more important than pace. 

To add several degrees of difficulty to an already tough equation, it was also the first run of a brand new training cycle, as well as my first run since an unfortunate bout with food poisoning over the weekend. So, yeah. The first few steps of this run were hard. 

How would my body handle adversity? Did I have enough energy stored up to handle the mileage, let alone the effort transitions throughout the run?  

Those questions, and more, were all rolling through my head as I started out, and remained fixed in my mind throughout the run. In this case, a bit of cautious trepidation was a good thing because it gave me permission to back off if the effort became too strenuous or taxing. 

More than that, those initial pangs of doubt became a beacon that guided me throughout the effort. By listening intently to what my body was telling me, I was able to manage the run effectively, and as it turns out, crush the workout component like a champ.

Here are some ways to tune into your body’s frequency during your run.