Week in Review: July 16-22

What a screwed up week. First I gave up on running completely, then I devised a grand scheme for running greatness, got injured, and then I decided to "start over" like I was a newbie. All in 7 days!  Crazy.

Now I don't know what the hell I'm doing.  I may settle on the "Tom Rice advice"...run for fun...run when you want...run how you want. Don't run if you don't want to. Guess that makes sense. Unfortunately, I know myself well enough to realize that I like to push myself to the limits and I like to compete against others. At times, that doesn't lend itself to following "reasonable advice" about how to run. Running and training are different concepts. Mr Rice's advice works well for everyday life...for a healthy lifestyle...for fun. It doesn't work if you want to run a 100 mile trail race. Or set a new PR. Or beat my best friend. Someday I'll be done with racing and testing my limits.  That day isn't here yet...but I do need a better balance between pushing and enjoying. Kudos to Tom for reinforcing the value of fun. 

For me, right now, the problem isn't running.  It's work. I'm overwhelmed and I have nothing left to give to my leisure activities and hobbies. I have nothing left for running. Work commitments will eventually change and my pursuit of running excellence will be revived.  Until then, I need to "run for fun" and not expect exceptional results. Ordinary running and ordinary results. Even now, I can fit in 3-4 runs each week at distances of 3-5 miles.  That's still about 9-20 miles per week. Good enough to maintain a base of fitness. Not enough to compete in ultramarathons.  One day I'll be back as a "competitive middle-of-the-pack" ultra runner! 

I've gotten off track. Here are my weekly statistics. Check out that "Max Speed"! I don't think that's accurate, but it's what my Garmin Connect data says. Who am I to correct fancy technology?

Count:	6 Activities
Distance:	30.92 mi
Max Distance:	6.89 mi
Avg Distance:	5.15 mi
Time:	5:51:22 h:m:s
Avg Speed:	5.3 mph
Max Speed:	1,551.0 mph
Avg HR:	128 bpm
Max HR:	158 bpm
Avg Run Cadence:	74 spm
Max Run Cadence:	102 spm
Calories:	3,777 C