It’s no secret that I miss running marathons and the associated long runs so when I saw the prompt for this week’s Tuesday Topics, “Would you rather do a short or long run?”, I jumped at the chance to reminisce about the good ole days of 20-mile training runs.
What’s Best for My Body
The question isn’t whether I’d rather do a short or long run, the question is whether or not my body can withstand a long run these days. My brain and heart say one thing, but my spine says something entirely different. Here’s a typical conversation…
- Brain: Remember how much fun we had getting up on Saturday mornings to meet friends on the W&OD Trail for a long run?
- Heart: Yeah, that was so much fun! Why don’t we do that again?
- Spine: Sure you guys had fun, but I’m the one that took all of the pounding.
- Brain: Remember, we even called our long runs a party on the trail!
- Heart: OMG, I’ve missed the excitement of working hard and feeling so accomplished when we finished our run.
- Spine: Heh heh, I tried to stop that nonsense by sending pain signals to the legs.
- Nerves: Yeah, we helped! Hey legs, did it work?
- Legs: Please never do that again.
- Brain: But your running friends miss you!
- Heart: I’m ready, when can we go for a long run again?
- Spine: But, but, but…
Long Run
One can approach the long run with dread or as I did, an opportunity to meet up with friends while getting in some fabulous cardiovascular exercise. The cool thing about spending several hours on the running trail with friends was that shenanigans abounded, conversations were plentiful, and the miles ticked away quickly.
Entering the trail when we should have detoured…
Short Run
Short runs are just that, short and sweet and can be finished quickly without a lot of planning. Because of that, I rarely make the effort to meet friends for my runs, but that’s all on me.
So Which Would I Rather Do?
I definitely had more fun on my long runs because I made them more fun. Given the opportunity, I’d jump at the chance to go on another long run, but I’m a realist and know that’s in my past. I have many fond memories of years of shenanigans on the running trail and I’m grateful that I can still run shorter distances despite my previous injuries.
I’ve settled for living vicariously through my friends by reading about their long training runs and races on blogs and Facebook posts, and for that, I’m thankful!
Questions:
- • What’s the longest distance race you’ve run? ~ I ran the JFK 50-Miler in November 1997.
- • If you train for marathons, what distance is your longest run? ~ I typically ran 22 miles as my longest training run in a cycle, but sometimes just for fun I’d go 24 miles.
- • Which would you rather do, a short run or a long run?
I’m linking up with Kim at Kookyrunner and Zenaida of Zenaida Arroya for their Tuesday topics Link-Up. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
I’ve been on team short runs for a while, but I’m hoping to get back to longer runs in preparation for a half marathon. I agree with you on how fun long runs can be. I’ve toyed with the idea of going longer (i.e., marathon) but gotta see how the body feels about it.
Here’s hoping your body will cooperate as you crank up the miles. It will be fun to cheer you on from afar! 🙂
The longest I’ve run is 50k. More than that I don’t think I want to. But you never know, right? After reading the various posts I can see why people prefer long runs.
Zenaida Arroyo recently posted…Tuesday Topics: Would I rather do a short or long run?
You’ll have your own share of long runs with your upcoming ultra!
This year is all about the long runs, Debbie. Im training for an ultra right now, which means my long runs are between 35k and a marathon.
My longest run was a 100k in Switzerland. We ran through the night. It was great fun.
Wow, 62 miles is quite the distance for a run. Congrats!
You know me- i’m missing my long runs right now. But all running is good running! The longest distance I’ve run is a marathon, and I would usually do a 22 long run in prep for that (I think once I did 24 though.)
i like your attitude- obviously you want to keep yourself pain free, and you’re enjoying your long bike rides now. It’s the perfect solution.
Thanks, Jenny, and you’re right, my long bike rides fill that cardio void I was missing.
My mind just boggles at 50 miles. I’m so sorry that you are no longer to do the thing you love so much — that hurts, literally. But as you say, you can still run — and you can ride your bike!
I miss when I had some running friends that actually ran my pace!
Thanks, Judy. Our MRTT group is so huge (1,800 members) that I could find other runners who run my pace if I chose to carve out the time to meet them. Have you checked to see if you have an active MRTT group in your area?
My happy place runs are 6-10 miles. I have never run more than 14 miles unless you count a Ragnar which I guess counts. Like you said, the long runs with friends and MRTT are so much more than just runs. When I have been injured and unable to run, it was the social aspect that I really missed the most
Missing the social aspect is so true. I scheduled pancake runs with the Cruisers when I was injured just so I could see them after their run for breakfast. 😀
It’s so hard when our mind tells us one thing, but our bodies are like “nope”! Although you don’t do long runs anymore, I love that you often do long bike rides.
Exactly! Our minds certainly want to win, but our bodies win out in the end always.
That conversation between brain, heart, spine (and nerves) was a great intro to the topic!
The longest I’ve done is 30km and next weekend I will do a 44km ultra. But after that I think I’ll remove long runs from my schedule and focus on shorter runs. I’ve found shorter runs are so much more convenient and I’m looking forward to having time to do other things as well.
Shorter runs are definitely more convenient, especially when you have small children. Good luck with your 44K ultra!
How about a smedium run? I love the Half distance. It suits me perfectly and the 10 mile training runs are perfect. I don’t regret my marathon and am so glad I did it in 2019, but my body does not like the wear and tear of marathon training. I ran 300 more miles last yeat than I did marathon training and finished 98% less injured.
Loved that conversation, boo on your spine not letting you play though
Cari recently posted…the things on my feet
Isn’t it amazing that you ran more, but were injured less. As much as I loved those really long runs, I know now that they weren’t particularly good for my body. I think 10 miles is a great training distance, too.