Pick a Plan, Any Plan

My “training program” for the Army Ten Miler is loose and flexible to say the least.  I plan to run three days a week, including a “long” run of 6-9 miles.  I plan to do “hill” workouts.  I plan to do “speed” workouts.  I think I should alternate those and do a “speed” workout one week and a “hill” workout the next, to avoid burnout and reduce the risk of injury.  That’s as detailed as I’ve gotten.

Since I did a “speed” workout last week, I planned to do a “hill” workout today (never mind that I did a tempo run on Monday . . . .).  But, I was tired when I got up, and my legs felt tired, so I wasn’t raring to go.  My dog needed some extra tending to, and I thought that maybe I should mop the kitchen floor since I never got around to it yesterday . . . . 

While I was getting out the mop, I realized that it was still early, and that I still had time for my full workout.  I reminded myself that I would regret ditching my plan, and told myself that I shouldn’t let the window of opportunity for my workout go by.  So, I put the mop and bucket aside, and headed for the TM.

It was a fine workout.  Not too grueling or interminably long, but challenging enough to feel worthwhile.  It left me dripping with sweat, so I had to shower before I could even consider mopping–which I wisely put off until after I’d had my coffee. 

Today I learned that having a plan–any plan–can make the difference between getting in a workout and finding a “reason” not to.  It didn’t matter that my plan wasn’t written down in a magazine, or copied from a website, or marked on my calendar.  I had a plan, and that was enough to make me want to stick with it.