This morning, my alarm went off a little before 5, just like it did yesterday, when I was still a runner. The feeling was strangely reminiscent, and at the same time, totally unlike the same time yesterday. There was no question that I was going to get up this morning, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do as soon as the alarm went off. I sprung out of bed, a rare occurrence in recent months, and felt enthusiastic about what I was hoping would happen next. You see, yesterday, I retired from running. Yes, the same running that had been one of the central themes of my life for the past 18 years. And this morning, on the first official day of my retirement, I had big plans.
Last night, I had laid out my early morning attire before I went to bed. A white singlet, bright yellow Coolmax shorts, and my Thor-lo socks were there to greet me, and I quickly slipped them on. I went downstairs, and drank my tall glass of ice coffee, just like I have done as part of my normal morning routine forever. I'm not a big fan of hot coffee, but I crave caffeine first thing in the morning, so this is how I get my daily dose. Then, I slipped on my shoes, and stretched, feeling a tinge of excitement I haven't felt too often lately. I guess retirement agrees with me already.
Then, at about 5:20 AM, I opened up the front door, and stepped into the warmth of the damp Georgia air, which usually hangs heavy this time of year. Later today, it will be close to 100 degrees out. This was quite tolerable, in comparison. The moon was past full by just a couple of days, but still cast a strong shadow of me as I headed down the street. At 5:20 AM this morning, a day after I quit running, my training officially began.
I don't mean to say that I have never "trained" before. At different times over the last 18 years, I've gone to the track, and done intervals. I've also made a point of running harder than usual when I have felt like it, and there have been periods of time where the long run has been a part of my weekly running routine. But I have never put it all together and followed a structured program, planning each run weeks ahead of time. I've just run, entered races, and done the best as I could within my own unstructured regimen.
As I look through the different training schedules, I see the same words I have seen for years; tempo runs, speedwork, repeats, fartlek, intervals, Yasso 800's, ladders, lactate threshold, and pace runs, to name a few. I've always had a vague idea of what they all meant, but they never really applied to me, so I only gave them a glance. After all, I was just a runner. The same words mean something totally different to someone who acquires book knowledge as opposed to someone who has become a subject matter expert by living it. I have always been the former.
So this morning, I blindly started something new. This morning, a day after I quit running, I started training. This morning's training effort covered the same terrain that running always used to in the past. Everything looked more or less the same as it did yesterday, but it felt much, much different. Today, I knew what I wanted to do before I started, and I already had in mind what I want to do tomorrow. I knew that today, I wanted to run fast, and finish my run in under 36 minutes. This is the same run that most often used to take me about 40 minutes when I still ran.
About half way through this morning's training, my legs were already starting to burn. My breathing was heavy, and I was ready for it all to be over. At the same time, I had the desire to keep pushing the pace, and I looked forward to the satisfaction I would feel when I checked out my fast time when I was done. I felt alive, and I felt inspired. I felt just like I had hoped I would when I decide to quit running, and start training. I finished, and looked at my watch. 35:16, with a half way split of 17:38. My first day of training was a resounding success.
I know that I want to settle in to a good program that can help me reach some realistic goals in my future race times. By October, I'd like to again run a 5K at a seven minute pace. It's a reasonable goal, but one I haven't reached in over three years. I am not sure I can ever reach it again by running. But I am confident I can reach it again by training. There may even be more aggressive goals down the road. Training, much like running, is one step at a time.
I imagine that as I continue to forge a path through the neighborhood every morning, the people who have seen me before will think to themselves "There he goes, running again, just like he does every day." I don't expect they will see the difference between what I used to do, and what I am doing now. But that's okay. I'll know the difference, and that's the important thing. Running and training are so similar in some ways, but they are worlds apart in others. For now, I have quit running, and started training.
I'll keep you posted on how it goes.