Fast Times Are Rocket Fuel for a Runner’s Motivation
However, danger lurks below
Progress in running is personal and can take many forms. However, improvement is like rocket fuel for motivation and a major contributing factor in making running so addictive. When that improvement is sizeable and, to some extent unexpected, the pleasure and pride can feel even greater.
The hard part often follows. What do we do with that sudden progress? Do you keep to your current training schedule that has generated such progression? Or do you attempt to push on further, maybe upping the mileage or running at a faster pace for each type of run? I often picked the latter to my cost.
Two weeks, two different running scenarios
A couple of weeks in Oxford promised an improvement in pace per mile across the different types of training runs. These frequent trips provide flatter running routes compared to the continuous ups and downs of a hilly Cornish running life.
That said, I had to wait for week two before putting this theory to the test. Week one was spent dog-sitting in South Hinksey, an area of Oxford I am less familiar with. This is not the flat side of Oxford that hugs the river Thames. This offered a week of uneven, off-road running on more rolling hills.
