Sigh, yet again I am resigned this week to performing my Wednesday run on the treadmill. Having commuted 45 minutes home and witnessing slips, slides, overturned cars, and more tow trucks than I've seen all winter, I deemed the roads unsafe for running.
Since I had my long run set for today (9 miles), and seeing as how doing 5 miles on the dreadmill last week was torture, I decided to push my long run to Sunday and instead change my Wednesday run to a semi-long run (4 miles today). We'll change this up for a bit and see how it goes. Sunday is usually my total rest day, but I've been feeling antsy on that day, so maybe this will cure the antsy-ness.
The 4 miles on the treadmill, surprisingly enough, felt good. Last week I was struggling at the 5.7 mph mark, and this week 6.7 felt comfortable, and I spent several intervals at the 7 and 7.5 marks as well. I think my body is beginning to adapt.
I was thinking this morning on my commute into work that we often compare our bodies to machines -- fuel the machine, run the machine, maintain the machine, etc. However, that's not entirely true. Machines do not adapt. They are essentially built to wear out. But the human body -- being the miraculous thing it is -- can become stronger, more efficient, faster, and more skilled if we apply the right stimulus. And this is true at any age. I've known 20-year-olds who act like they're 50 and 50-year-olds who act like they're 20 (ahem, Mr. Tony Horton, you know who you are).
So now that my stimulus is done (the 4 mile run), I'm going to go kick back and "adapt" in front of the TV. Hopefully in time for the 9 miles on Sunday. GULP!
No comments:
Post a Comment