In Fact I’ll Start Tomorrow
Procrastination is my sin.
It brings me endless sorrow.
I really must stop doing it,
in fact, I'll start tomorrow...
Today’s run was supposed to be an “easy long run”. Some might imagine this a contradiction in terms, and, ex falso quodlibet, I might just say anything now. My pricey education compels me to wave my hands, pay oblique lip service to Wittgenstein’s language games, declare quod scripsi, scripsi, and tell you not to worry ’bout a thing lest I spill the banks of English once more.
I digress.
In this circumstance, an “easy long run” is a run at conversational pace (a pace where one can chat on and on about epistemology, for instance) for a long distance (a large proportion of one’s weekly mileage). In my case, a “long” distance for this week was 11 miles.
I ran two miles and called it a day, because my legs felt icky.
This may raise a couple questions. Is the best way to train for a marathon to give up early and often? Can I run the marathon over the course of a week instead of at one time?
More on the latter question later, but suffice to say, the marathon is a thousand-mile race the final few miles of which are on race day. As for giving up early and often, if you’re having an off day (as I was today), it can be prudent to give yourself a break. Certainly on race day, I might wish to tap into some primal instinct and push myself the likes of which I never have before; but, if there is any glory to be found in marathoning (there is and there isn’t) it is definitely not to be found in punishing yourself when you’re not feeling great.
What’s that they say? It’s a marathon, not a sprint?
- Mileage Today: 2.3
- Mileage This Week: 2.3
- Mileage on Lake Patrol: 2.3
- Mileage To Date: A lot.
About Me
Hey everyone! I’m John Christensen, the top-ranked non-finisher at the 2025 Never Summer 60k. I’ll be running the 2026 Grandma’s Marathon in support of the American Cancer Society, a nationwide non-profit in operation since 1913 dedicated to eliminating cancer.
The “Lake Patrol” blog will catalog my training and some of my pontifications and bloviations. I intend to use this as a form of self-coaching, as well as a record of my state of mind that I might appreciate re-reading one day.
If you enjoy the blog, consider making a donation to the ACS on my personal page, directly to the ACS, or to a charity of your choice.