- The devil on your shoulder
- The other devil on your shoulder
- A demi-god (or demon, or idol, or joe bag o'donuts)
The first devil on your shoulder is the one that makes you feel bad for not running while you are on vacation. Of course you don't want to run while on vacation because it is much more fun to sleep in, roll out of bed and drink coffee in your pjs and hang out with your vacation friends/family/or no one. Maybe you'll go shopping, maybe site-seeing, maybe it's been an hour since you last ate so you go eat more. Basically vacations have their own timelines so it is hard to go against that timeline because sometimes you just "go where the wind takes you". You also don't want to be the buzz kill that ruins the vacation schedule because you are going out running. Sorry everyone, that trip to see the brewery sounds fun, but can you all wait 2 hours I have to go running. The devil on your shoulder says things like "you better go running, your family will be around when you get back", and "wow second breakfast, you better run that off later". If you listen to it you probably miss out on something everyone is doing, or you pass on that 3rd game of wii bowling and a 4th Bells IPA the night before because you have to run 15 miles the next day. But that devil reminds you as you strap on your shoes while everyone else is going to wander around Main Street "go on that run because if you don't you'll feel it at mile 22 in your next marathon".
The second devil doesn't give a shit if you run, in fact it encourages you not to run. It also wants to roll out of bed and watch that cable TV you don't get at home, those donuts that just appear on the counter from your dad, the craft beers only available in the Central Time Zone. You shouldn't run because you might miss something really really fun. Impromptu air rifle shooting in the backyard, a trip to Town to get food, a visit to some iconic place/statute/brewery. It reminds you that you can afford to miss a couple days of running so you should just live large and really embrace vacation. This devil says things like "why run when you can drink some Growler Beer and play yatzee" and "you spent all this money and time to visit your family/friends/place why do you want to spend it running?". If you listen to it you will probably have a lot of fun, and maybe a hangover. You will also have a hard time getting back in your groove when you get back home. When you have the small inclination to lace up your shoes that devil reminds you "don't go on that run, if you do you might feel better at mile 22, but what will you miss in the process?"
The demi-god/demon/idol/Joe Bags isn't powerful enough to sit on your shoulder like a devil or an angel. Joe Bags just sort of hangs out and throws out other options. Of course you don't want to spend your whole vacation running, but you also don't want to come back and realize you forgot how to tie your shoe laces. Old Joe Bags says "hey your nephews are taking a nap you could squeeze in some hill work", or "your sister wants to go on a run so you could do that with her". Joe Bags doesn't care how many miles you run, just fit it into when you have time and it works with what's going on around you. Joe Bags never gives you a disapproving look if you have another beer, but he does laugh a little when you slog through a short run the next day because of it. Don't mistake Joe Bags for a softy, if there is a time and a place to fit the run into your vacation he'll remind you of it. But he won't try and manufacture time if it's not there. He'll be there at mile 22 in your next marathon helping you forget the pain in your legs saying "Remember when you visited such and such place, how much fun it was?"
You can really choose which one you listen to. A lot of it depends on what you are trying to get out of running. If you are sponsored by Newton and you're trying to win part of the purse in the next race then you might error on the side of Devil 1. If you still have a long couple months of training to go before your race you might error on the side of Devil 2. But a lot of us run because we like running. We sign up for races because it helps us keep running on days we don't feel like it, we love new shirts, we love to visit new places, or we love hearing 100's of watches beep simultaneously at each mile. Running and training can feel like a job sometimes, so it's not a bad thing to take a vacation from running or just a vacation from a strict schedule. I remember taking a trip to Arkansas before my first marathon for my nephews baptism. The trip fell the weekend the training plan scheduled the long run, the 18 miler. There really was no opting out of that, if you've ever run a marathon you know how important it is to knock out those long runs, especially at the end of your training. But the heat of Arkansas in the summer required the run to start early and it also got me out of having to do picnic party prep. Alternatively, I just went to visit Arkansas again at Christmas and didn't stress out about staying with my running schedule. I was still able to run a couple days and didn't feel like a total dud when I got home. The miles sort of felt like "bonus" miles that I didn't have to do, but got to do.
Missing a couple runs will not ruin your race, nor will a couple of days a marathon champ make. It's your whole training schedule and the totality of the runs you've done. No don't be a total slog and do nothing for 2 weeks just because your on vacation. But you can make your running part of your vacation and if you can you should.
The demi-god/demon/idol/Joe Bags isn't powerful enough to sit on your shoulder like a devil or an angel. Joe Bags just sort of hangs out and throws out other options. Of course you don't want to spend your whole vacation running, but you also don't want to come back and realize you forgot how to tie your shoe laces. Old Joe Bags says "hey your nephews are taking a nap you could squeeze in some hill work", or "your sister wants to go on a run so you could do that with her". Joe Bags doesn't care how many miles you run, just fit it into when you have time and it works with what's going on around you. Joe Bags never gives you a disapproving look if you have another beer, but he does laugh a little when you slog through a short run the next day because of it. Don't mistake Joe Bags for a softy, if there is a time and a place to fit the run into your vacation he'll remind you of it. But he won't try and manufacture time if it's not there. He'll be there at mile 22 in your next marathon helping you forget the pain in your legs saying "Remember when you visited such and such place, how much fun it was?"
You can really choose which one you listen to. A lot of it depends on what you are trying to get out of running. If you are sponsored by Newton and you're trying to win part of the purse in the next race then you might error on the side of Devil 1. If you still have a long couple months of training to go before your race you might error on the side of Devil 2. But a lot of us run because we like running. We sign up for races because it helps us keep running on days we don't feel like it, we love new shirts, we love to visit new places, or we love hearing 100's of watches beep simultaneously at each mile. Running and training can feel like a job sometimes, so it's not a bad thing to take a vacation from running or just a vacation from a strict schedule. I remember taking a trip to Arkansas before my first marathon for my nephews baptism. The trip fell the weekend the training plan scheduled the long run, the 18 miler. There really was no opting out of that, if you've ever run a marathon you know how important it is to knock out those long runs, especially at the end of your training. But the heat of Arkansas in the summer required the run to start early and it also got me out of having to do picnic party prep. Alternatively, I just went to visit Arkansas again at Christmas and didn't stress out about staying with my running schedule. I was still able to run a couple days and didn't feel like a total dud when I got home. The miles sort of felt like "bonus" miles that I didn't have to do, but got to do.
Missing a couple runs will not ruin your race, nor will a couple of days a marathon champ make. It's your whole training schedule and the totality of the runs you've done. No don't be a total slog and do nothing for 2 weeks just because your on vacation. But you can make your running part of your vacation and if you can you should.
No comments:
Post a Comment