Hobby Jogger

 Yesterday, I opened up an article in my Google feed from Outside Magazine.  The piece, by Brian Metzler, was entitled "What I Learned Running 30 Days in a Row."  The title piqued my interest for personal "running" reasons; in the Spring of 2020, I completed a modest run streak of 45 days in a row, running at least two miles daily.  My total mileage for the month and one-half streak was about 150 miles.  The feeling that I got at the end of the run on July 4th (it was the Runners World challenge from Memorial Day to Independence Day) was as thrilling as any PR.  The author started his column by stating that we often overthink running, but it should be simple, especially if we view it daily.  It really struck home when he described his current condition as "marginal fitness and lack of motivation."  Now he has my undivided attention!

And then it hits me.  After a brief running resume, the author explains that due to a knee injury, no race goals, and logging more time on his bike, he has turned into a...........HOBBY JOGGER.  I felt like he was writing this section about me.  The slap upside my metaphorical head was hard.  Changes need to be made.

The first step is done; I have signed up for the Peachtree 10k road race in Atlanta, GA, on July 4th.  I have set a goal of improving my time by 22 minutes over last year, a modest goal considering how poorly I ran last year's race.  The second step is also done; I have updated my blog from the year 2017.  A small change, but we are heading in the right direction.

The third step is to make a written training log of planned and actual runs.  I had tried to do this before but always lacked follow-through, and I ended up using a spreadsheet on a computer.  While this is certainly better than nothing, having something on paper where you can see actual gains and losses will make progress much more straightforward.

To go along with step three, I must make a training plan for a 10k race in three months.  I am still Gallowrunning, but I am running longer and have reached that 10k distance several times.  With more consistency, a good time in the July race is achievable.

I am trying to figure out what to do about Zwifting, but increasing running time might decrease time cycling.  We'll see how that fits in.  I am dedicating this upcoming weekend to getting everything down on paper and coming back to write a blog post about it Sunday night.  Hold me to it.

Hobby jogger.  I don't think so.