This morning, when I woke up, I actually felt sad that I wasn’t running. I could have; I had the energy and my legs felt like they were ready to go, but it was too late in the morning. I had run out of time.
Starting tomorrow morning, I’ll be running daily. Everything I’ve been reading says that daily exercise is better than just the 3-4 times a week I’ve been doing. Also, I feel that after a month of running, my legs are now ready for daily runs. I’m going to take it easy, as I have been, and still stick to my 3-4 miles per day for my runs with perhaps a little more distance on Sundays, but I’m not looking to be an elite or even a competitive runner. I’ll cap at “Pre-competitive runner,” as these classifications go.
My last runs have been good. I’ve been experiencing all the things that the experts say I should experience, and I’ve avoided the bad things that runners should avoid. Running daily will put more stress on my joints and muscles, but the benefits are too great to ignore. Being older, I need to maximize the exercise while I can to benefit my cardiovascular system. I also need to make sure I get stronger/faster soon. I will soon be entering the National Guard and will be required to attend a school over the course of 18 months that will be very physical. Being (most likely) the oldest guy in the class, I’ll have a target on my back to the instructors, and I will have a lot to prove to the young guys. Having had this head-start with running will go a long way to ensuring my success.
It’s taken a month, but it feels like I just started. I am happy that I took my time and took this gradually. I now feel ready to run daily. Had I jumped into that too quickly, I’m sure I’d have experienced shin splints, pulled muscles, etc. Tortoise vs hare. No need to try to be fast very quickly. Working up to it slowly has been far more successful than any other training plan I’ve tried in the past.
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