I ran my current default circuit of 5.2 miles in 42 or 43 minutes today and whilst I wasn’t that impressed with the two or three minutes less that I took compared to last time I ran it, it did increase the speed to 7.3mph or thereabouts.
I spent the run thinking about how we run more quickly and have come up with this quick (and certainly not exhaustive) list.
- You have to want to run faster (and I seldom do, as I enjoy the act of running more when I’m not racing)
- You have to be fit enough to push a bit harder
- The conditions need to be favourable – it rained a little last night so the going was springy and quite flat, but trying to run fast on a rutted surface, or in a gluggy mud-bath, would not be so sensible
- You have to keep focused on going faster – you need to maintain the pressure all the way round otherwise you can end up losing any extra ground you’ve made.
I didn’t particularly want to run this morning and it was hard going at first, but the springy mud was so delightful to run on that I decided to up the pace a little. I then kept the pressure on, especially in the uphill sections, chose faster lines through corners, stretched my legs out down the hills and kept focused. Made a game of it, really.
I didn’t enjoy the run as much as normal, but it was rewarding in a different way, once again to do with resiliance… being able to complete a task you’ve set yourself.
And as usual there are a whole host of other things that you can apply this thinking to, from my peers and I putting ourselves out to take further education in our forties, despite busy jobs, to my mother fighting to learn Tai-Chi to improve her balance at 79.
What new way can you find to stretch yourself today?