Rituals

Rituals.  Probably the most important thing to any athlete.

I've just completed my sixth consecutive 100+ mile week of running.  My runs have gotten much better over the last month and a half.  I'm walking very minimally now, and my average pace is close to 11km/hr (up from a hair over 10 when I started this training plan).  I can contribute almost all my gains to one thing.

The quality of my rituals.

With the rare exception of planned big run days, every morning I wake up and run 7 miles. It doesn't matter how much I hurt, if I'm sick, or if I work at 5am.  I anchor my entire day around this ritual.

Wake Up.
Eat Oatmeal and banana with whole milk.
Drink coffee.
Run 7 miles.

This accounts for almost half of my mileage every week.

 The benefits I've noticed from this?

My ability to deal with discomfort has gone up exponentially.
I can run sore.
I can run tired.
My muscles recover quickly.

I'll add another post next week, about how I dance around this ritual to maximize the benefits of double and triple runs, but for now, I'll leave you with my treadmill program for the mornings.

2 min 8mph
2 min 7.8mph
2 min 7.6 mph
2 min 7.4mph
2 min 7.2mph
2 min 7.0mph
2 min 6.8mph
( Repeat 4 times, as my program is an hour long, that leaves 4 minutes for walking, sprinting, or jogging)

*This will get you more than 7 miles, but that's just bonus mileage between you and the treadmill/trail.

Good luck in all your training this week.  Feel free to drop me a line in the comments, or at jslykhuis@hotmail.com

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