Anti-Marathon Training: The Fifth Avenue Mile
Sometimes it's a good idea to break away from your training plan. Here's why I did it!
By Ali Nolan, Runner's World
Before the Fifth Avenue Mile on Sunday, it had been over a decade since I raced a single Mile. I signed up on a whim when a coworker emailed me an invitation to be part of the media heat. I figured it was an easy drive into the city, a chance to see the pros, and sheesh, it was only a Mile—it wouldn’t interfere with my training that much.
I was in a "step back" week, after all. My marathon plan said I was supposed to run one hour and forty-five minutes on Saturday. I asked Coach Budd if everything would be okay if I took that run really easy and switched it to Friday. He said to go for it.
Fellow runners and obsessives can understand how difficult it is to deviate from the plan. I had to skip four easy Miles on Thursday to prep for the long-ish run on Friday. And, because I’d rather watch an hour of news in the morning than do any a.m. running, I have to do all my weekday runs in the evening. So the last 45 minutes of my run on Friday night was dark—creepy dark—and was cutting into precious cat cuddling time.
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