A year ago, I decided to get serious about running again. That has turned out to be one of the better decisions I’ve made.
Since then I’ve run at least three times a week each of the last 52 weeks, completed a sub-two-hour half-marathon, and run a total of 811 miles. My cardiovascular endurance has skyrocketed, my recovery times have dropped, and my overall tolerance for discomfort in the service of improvement has increased dramatically. Now I’m running 15-18 miles a week (I’ve stayed above the 15 mile/week threshold for the last six months), and I’ve started working with a personal trainer on improvement other aspects of my physical fitness (mostly upper body strength).
Running four times a week, working out with a trainer twice a week, getting down to SCA fighter practice in Northridge almost every week: This seems like a lot. It is, but I’m enjoying doing it. And I didn’t take it on all at once. A decade or so ago, I encountered this wisdom on a running email list: “People tend to overestimate what they can do in a year (and underestimate what they can do in three).” I avoided overestimating what I could in year by not even thinking about it. I just focused on building things one week, one month at a time.
Where will I be with this in year? Who can say. But I’m very happy with where I am now.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019 at 1:25PM