Once you’ve been running for awhile, you get it. You know what you need to do to prepare for a race. From past experiences, you know your body and what it can handle. For this reason, I’ve started to make my own training regimens. Depending on what I want to accomplish, these training programs will change.

The one invaluable piece of advice I can give anyone and their training schedule (whether you make your own or not) is to write it down. Print it out. Put in on the refrigerator, mirror, wall or anywhere you will constantly see it. Not only will you be reminded of what you’ve got to do next, it’s a great motivator when everybody else can see it. Did a day go past without you crossing a day off? Did anybody else see it? You’d be amazed at what a little encouragement can do.

RMFR

As most of you know, I’m a morning runner. I’m not just talking sunrise kind of morning but 4:30 am kind of running. It’s pitch black and there’s almost no traffic.

Last week I didn’t get my tempo run in one morning and planned to take an hour to fit it in at lunch. Well, that didn’t work out as planned (as it never does) and I settled for running when I got home. Last week we experienced some major winds (20-30 mph) so I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular. That and the fact that I’m usually spent afterwork didn’t fuel my confidence either.

I decided to pace it slow and see how things went. Luckily the wind was from the side so I didn’t have to head right into it on either part of my route. I did however have to lean 15º to one side to avoid being blow into the ditch or oncoming traffic (no lie)!!! With the change in time and the extreme weather conditions, I was done before I knew it. With so many external factors in play, I didn’t even look at my watch or worry about my pace. The result – one of my fastest pace runs this year.

This just goes to show that changing up your regular routine can throw unexpected results your way. Need a change? Mix it up a little bit and see what happens. You never know what’s in store.

RMFR