After being on a training plan for 2 marathons in 6 months--that means I've been running on a structured plan for almost a year--I won't lie. I feel a little lost. With a training plan, I have a schedule to follow. There's speedwork, marathon paced runs, and long slow distance runs. Of course, with my Big Sur training, there was that point where I wasn't doing a lot of running due to injury. But I still had workouts to complete--pool running and cycling--to help me meet my goals. Now that Big Sur is history, the dust has settled. I've recovered fully and I'm back on the road again. But with no training plan in place, I feel a little aimless.
No time goals? No paces to hit? No distances to cover? Nothing to train for?
Why run at all? What's my motivation?
Because sometimes it feels good to just run free.
Why run at all? What's my motivation?
Because sometimes it feels good to just run free.
Back in the day, when I was just running for fitness and mental health, I didn't train for anything. Sure, I ran a few 5ks and 10ks, but mostly I ran for me. My favorite distance to run back then, and it still is, was 6 miles. I mostly ran 4-5 days/week, but I didn't do speedwork or anything like that. I still remember the day that I ran 7 miles. Pushing my mileage limits, I was out of my comfort zone for sure. I felt exhilarated and scared at the same time. All of a sudden, I had this realization that the sky was really the limit for me. Kind of like when Becky had me swinging on those rings this week.
I liked those runs because I felt free. I've never been very good at managing stress or pressure in my life and those runs were the one time where I could just go and do my thing. Alone. Just me and my thoughts. Can you imagine what it was like for me to give those runs up when I started training for half marathons and then fulls?
Luckily when she's devised my training plans, Becky has been really good about leaving me at least one or two "free" runs per week that I could do at any pace I wanted. She knew I needed them and she was right. Those were my favorite runs, my free runs, where I could lose myself in my music and just go. Sure, I wear my Garmin on all my runs to track my distance, but when I'm running free, I don't pay much attention to my pace.
Lately, I've seen more and more postings on social media about "running free". For some runners, running free means free of all electronic gadgets. No Garmin, no heart rate monitor, no music. For others, it means running without a goal in mind. Just lacing up the shoes and heading out the door.
Who doesn't love the idea of doing that?
Who doesn't love the idea of doing that?
Don't get me wrong, I do set out on a run with a mileage goal in mind. It's kind of a loose goal, though. If a run is going well, I might go farther. And if I'm struggling, I might cut it short. But the whole point of running free is to go with the flow, so to speak. To not worry about pace. To enjoy the run. To "take the long way home".
So now you know where I got the name for my blog.
So now you know where I got the name for my blog.
As I write this, just the idea of running free makes me want to go for a run. I look forward to putting on my shoes and my music and heading out the door. Running free takes me back to the beginning, to why I started running in the first place.
What does running free mean to you? Do you like to run free? Or do you always have a structured plan in place?
I'm linking up with DebRuns for Wednesday Word, which is freedom. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's take on this word!
What does running free mean to you? Do you like to run free? Or do you always have a structured plan in place?
I'm linking up with DebRuns for Wednesday Word, which is freedom. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's take on this word!