Comparisons
For a while I’ve been coming down on myself for letting my motorcycling get in the way of my running. I’ve put weight back on, and as I’ve been getting back to a running schedule this year I’ve been bemoaning the conditioning that I lost. 2005 was pretty much wasted for running as I logged approximately 60 miles total. So coming back into it I’ve been comparing myself to where I was at the end of 2004.
It just occurred to me that if I really want a gauge of how much backsliding I’ve done, I should compare my times and weight to where I was at this time in 2004. Turns out I’m doing better than I was in June of 2004. As an example, a few weeks ago I ran a 5k in 27:29. While that’s far from a personal record (it’s almost the same pace as the half marathon I ran in October of 2004), when I ran that same race in 2004 I finished in 29:56.
In fact my times are consistently better now than they were in June of 2004. In June of 2004 I logged a total of 36 miles. So far in June of this year, I’ve logged 35, and there are still almost two weeks left in the month.
So while 2005 was a washout for running, 2006 so far looks better than 2004 was. I still have some catching up to do, to be sure, but I don’t have anything to beat myself down over.
Don’t blame motorcycling for
Don’t blame motorcycling for getting out of shape. Seriously. Think in terms of *how* you are making your runs- what are you eating, when are you eating, how you eat, etc.
When I’m making a 300+ journey, I typically eat things such as oatmeal, fruit, fruit juice, etc.