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You are here: Home / running / Breaking the rules

Breaking the rules

February 10, 2012 by MCM Mama 22 Comments

As I mentioned earlier, I joined Team Tough Chik in January.  I’m not sure exactly why I joined, other than the shirt was cute and I like their philosophy.  As it turns out, it’s a group of women from all walks of life.  We are all different ages from different parts of the country.  We are young and old.  Some run, some do triathlons, one woman rock climbs (holy cow!)  What I found (and had no idea I’d find) was a wonderfully supportive group of women who are willing to discuss everything from menopause to injuries to fashion while running.  One of the TC’s came up with the idea of a weekly “Riddle me this?” question for those of us who blog to answer if we feel like it.

This week’s question:  What running rule do you break?

Me?  I don’t follow the rules when it comes to mileage increase.  I’m all over the place.  One week I’ll run 19 miles, the next I’ll run 27.  My long run one week might be 6 miles and the next it will be 10.  I’m even an RRCA certified coach, so I know better than to do this.  But, I’ve been running for a long time and I’m really good at listening to my body.  (OK, I might hear what it has to say and ignore it, but I hear it LOL).  Do I ever plan to follow the rule of no more than 10% mileage increase per week? Maybe if I run another marathon.  Otherwise, I’m likely to keep running whatever mileage makes me happy, with the general goal of hitting at least 20 miles per week and working my way up to a half marathon in Vibrams.  (Eeek!)

In other running news, yesterday I ran 5 miles while I was figuring out a route for a new local race.  It was interesting to run an area and look at it with the thought of 1000 runners going down the road.  Certainly very different way of running an area.  Wouldn’t it be cool to actually do that for a job LOL?

Today, I’m going for a run with my dad in honor of Sherry.  Tomorrow is a rest day, so I’ll be thinking of her on my run today (honestly, I’ve been thinking of her on all my runs lately as I always run alone).

Sunday I plan to race the Love the Run You’re with 5k.  My plan was to run hard enough to puke at the finish line, but now they are calling for ice and snow the night before.  This might mean my plan is to not fall on my a$$.  We’ll see.

Run on friends!  The weekend is nearly here.

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Filed Under: running Tagged With: 5k, coaching, mileage, virtual race

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Comments

  1. Miz says

    February 10, 2012 at 7:46 am

    Ahhhh the rules.

    I don’t deliberately flout them to be a misfit—-but I end up flouting. And. In a way. If im ever successful (at anything!) it’s almost despite of myself!

    I love how we’ve all come together to remember Sherry. Bittersweet…

    Reply
  2. Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean says

    February 10, 2012 at 7:58 am

    have a great race! and be careful!! i break the plan your workouts a week ahead of time rule. i just do whatever i’m in the mood for that day 🙂

    Reply
  3. Tara Burner says

    February 10, 2012 at 8:01 am

    have a great race and I think I break all the rules in running and life 😉

    Reply
  4. Dawn says

    February 10, 2012 at 8:27 am

    Good luck and have a fantastic race!!!

    Reply
  5. Jess says

    February 10, 2012 at 8:57 am

    Yeaaa….I didn’t realize they were calling for snow and ice on Saturday. That could make for some very, very unpleasant race conditions.

    Reply
  6. Marlene says

    February 10, 2012 at 9:28 am

    That would be a very cool job.

    With coaching this clinic, get to plan 3 routes per week for about 50 runners… so it’s kind of the same thing in a scaled back way. LOL!

    Good luck at the 5K! I hope the weather cooperates. Figures, it’s been nothing but mild temps and clear roads til you have a race…

    Reply
  7. Brigid says

    February 10, 2012 at 11:02 am

    That does sound like it would be a fun job! Hmm I break a couple rules too. A) I don’t run my long runs as slowly as I probably should B) I frequently don’t warm up or cool down properly C) I don’t stretch nearly as much as I should. Also D) I’m not sure I care for yoga. Ok, that’s not really a running rule, but most people seem to love it!

    Reply
  8. Heather@Just a Colorado Gal says

    February 10, 2012 at 11:27 am

    That would be a sweet job! How do I sign on for that?! I thought about joining Tough Chik and then…I just didn’t. I have no idea what happened. Sigh. Maybe next year!

    Reply
  9. Robin Johnson says

    February 10, 2012 at 12:33 pm

    I agree with you about not following a set schedule. It’s hard …., like you, I know that we are supposed to. I listen to my body and do what I feel that day. Yet, I always run longer on the weekends. http://www.dashingdiva.net

    Reply
  10. Laura says

    February 10, 2012 at 1:34 pm

    I’m not a great rule follower either, but I have learned the hard way a few times with mileage increases, so I do try to pay attention to it now! However, I cannot for the life of me stick to one training plan, I like to use it as a general guideline and go from there.

    Reply
  11. kimert says

    February 10, 2012 at 1:35 pm

    So glad to hear other runners do this! I didn’t admit to breaking this rule with the question but I did actually do it last week. My scheduled 7 miler turned 14. hahaha oops.

    Have a great weekend!!

    Reply
  12. Pam says

    February 10, 2012 at 1:56 pm

    Hey, I’ll be at the 5k with you! We should try to meet up! I’ll be running for Sherry during the race. It will give me some much needed perspective.

    Reply
  13. XLMIC says

    February 10, 2012 at 2:04 pm

    Wait…there are RULES? Shit. I never got that memo.

    Reply
  14. Bonnie says

    February 10, 2012 at 2:19 pm

    I feel like I’m definitely a rule-breaker when it comes to running (and wrote a similar post about it a bit ago on my blog too!)…I’m with you on the mileage breaker. I think our bodies can do so much more than we think they can and I love going into a long run “unprepared” (ie: not necessarily “rested” and not necessarily having planned on it that day) – I go by if I have time and if my body feels it! Of course, I’m not training for anything so I don’t have to worry about a schedule – that helps too.

    I’m also a bit of a shoe rule breaker…I don’t change my shoes after x amount of mileage because I think back to when people ran barefoot or in light canvas shoes – that’s all they had! And they were okay! So while I do listen to my body’s aches and pains if I’m conditioned with my Vibrams and running carefully I will just rotate old shoes and/or Vibrams…haven’t bought a new pair of shoes in a while and so far I’ve been okay.

    Each body is different, but this is what works for me! “Born to Run” helped forge some of these thoughts and assumptions that maybe I CAN do more or do things differently in my running life!

    Reply
  15. TNT Coach Ken says

    February 10, 2012 at 4:46 pm

    Shame on you coach! LOL

    Reply
  16. Kathy says

    February 10, 2012 at 5:09 pm

    Did I see you running up Clarendon Blvd this morning? Red top, black 3/4 length tights? I was about to get out of my house to go in the Container Store – thought it looked like you.

    Reply
  17. Jessica M says

    February 10, 2012 at 5:27 pm

    Planning a local race route sounds like fun!! I am going to try and run for Sherry tomorrow, if not it will be Sunday–whether and hip permitting! Have a great weekend!! 🙂

    Reply
  18. Tamara says

    February 10, 2012 at 5:30 pm

    I always approach rules with a grain of salt. Most often, breaking a workout rule has resulted in a surprising gain of some sort of another!
    Enjoy your run!

    Reply
  19. Travel Spot says

    February 10, 2012 at 6:38 pm

    Good luck on your run! I will be running for Sherry as well!

    Reply
  20. Andrea says

    February 10, 2012 at 7:45 pm

    Will you end up with more snow than us? It’s happened before.

    Reply
  21. Meredith @ DareYouTo says

    February 10, 2012 at 9:15 pm

    Ah, good question! I definitely do not warm up my legs as much as I should before running. Granted, my runs are usually only around 3 miles, sometimes 4 or 5. But still, I should definitely warm up for longer than I do. Gotta work on that.

    Reply
  22. Christina says

    February 11, 2012 at 3:19 pm

    My mileage is all over the place too. 🙂
    And I don’t follow the rules of resting, icing, rolling, stretching, and cross training as judiciously as I should be.

    Reply
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Who is MCM Mama?
A slightly obnoxious mom and wife who loves good beer and running, who struggles a bit with depression especially in the winter and when running isn’t allowed, who’d rather go on a fun vacation than upgrade the kitchen or add a master bath, and has a minor addiction to the Marine Corps Marathon.

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