Running Toward Myself

Lost Without a Plan    

I'm ashamed. I'll admit it. For the first time in several years I'm running without a plan. I know, I KNOW! One of the cardinal sins of running is to be out there with no focus and no plan. No real end to the means of each daily workout. I've been organizing a "loose" race schedule for the upcoming year, and knowing that I have been able to maintain a decent base thus far this winter has given me a false sense of safety. My un-planned training plan involves, at the moment:

1. One speed session
2. One tempo run
3. One long run
4. Random cross-training and core-"like" things.

Yeah, so you can see I've got all the ingredients in the mix to keep things together. The problem comes in with that pesky item #4.  I've been way too hit-and-miss with that #4 thing. A few weeks ago I spent an evening on the trainer followed by some core-ish things. Last week I threw in a Friday night flailing around in the pool. The past two weeks I've attended hot yoga (note: do not do hot yoga the night before your long run. Disaster. Be advised). For me, this is where having no plan becomes apparent.

As  runner I have no trouble with the running part of a training plan. It's those other aspects of preparing myself to become a stronger runner in which I falter. If I have a plan in hand, I will discipline myself and make each and every workout a priority. Why, then, do I simply make the conscious choice to NOT do the cross-training and core work that I know will make me fitter, faster, and stronger? Is it because without a race looming and a mandatory plan I feel selfish for taking the extra time away from the home-fires? Is it because that extra time in the morning is SO much better spent lying on the couch watching the morning news? OR, is it simply because I am lazy? And how can I call myself, an endurace athlete, lazy? While we are asking questions, how about this one: How can someone who can run for miles at a time not be able to 25 sit-ups witout her abs screaming for mercy? I think I just answered my own question. Today I make a plan.