Maximize Your Workout

After the 20 ml long run on Sat, I was planning to do my 6 ml recovery run as – 1 ml easy warm up, 4 ml tempo and 1 ml cool down at Los Gatos Creek Trail this morning with the Bay Area Runners group. However, I was woken up around 5 in the morning by the sound of downpour, and no way was I going out in weather like that.

The whole morning I looked at the running pants and socks and debating if I should go to the gym and keep up with my training program, which I mapped it out for my Surf City Marathon on Feb 7 – yes, less than 3 weeks from now. But the thought of running on a treadmill just wasn’t very appealing to me, so I just sit on the thought and not too excited about it. Since I work from my home, I figured I could always go to the gym in the afternoon after I took care of work related stuffs. However, the miracle sun came out around 11:45 and rain had ceased. I was so happy to see the bright and sunny outside; quickly changed to my running cloth I went out for my run.

I ignored the drizzle that had just started again, and took off my run on a quiet and almost secluded trail. Very soon  I realized that I could not do my speed work today because of the trail condition, so instead of focusing on my pace, I had to shift my focus to those puddles of water, fallen branches and leaves, and nuts and cones. The last thing I want was injured ankles weeks before the race.

Throughout my 5 ml run this time, I only came across 1 runner, 3 walkers, and two bikers. I guess the bad weather had put people staying indoor today. By the time I finished my run, I was feeling so energetic and refreshed – the reason why I love outdoor running so much. And the sense of gratification and joy after a long run is almost like a bug that once I caught it just can’t quit it.

People enjoy different workouts and we all have our pick and tend to stick to it, however I recently discovered a very interesting study and thought we might start to rotate our workout routines a bit. New research shows that something as simple as swapping scenery or ditching our training partner can help us squeeze bonus benefits out of the same old workouts. See how you can reap more rewards below.

*Source: Santa Clara University