I did a spontaneous mini-run today!
Yesterday I thought about doing shorter runs on my off-days–currently Tuesday and Thursday–with the idea being I’d either go half my usual distance (so 2.5 km) or run for a set amount of time (something that would at least equal the half distance, like 15 minutes).
I ultimately opted to go for distance, because it would keep things neater and tidier in the stats (that didn’t happen today, for reasons I will explain below).
The idea behind these mini-runs is:
- To improve my overall fitness
- To help get me energized at the start of the day
- To see what fun things will happen to my body
It’s mostly the second one. I feel that on non-run days I start out a bit blah and listless. Running focuses me and gets me energized. If I keep the runs short and on the river trail (as I did today) they can give me a boost without eating up too much time.
Also, the stats are faster, which is a nice because fast is GOOD. Right?
Speaking of stats, the shorter run resulted in a lower BPM of 154, and a faster average pace of 5:29/km. I also got an award for my fastest 1 km yet, at 5:22/km.
With a run like this, there isn’t really time for any issues to develop. The biggest one was technical. I wanted to end the run at 2.5 km and got a text alert shortly before that. The alerts cover the top of the watch display where distance is shown. I don’t know how to dismiss the alerts, and this one seemed to sit there forever. I finally just guessed I’d hit 2.5 km and paused the run, to find I was actually at 2.59 km. Not a big deal, but it rankles me in an OCD way. I have since learned how to dismiss alerts during a run. For posterity, in case I forget, or if anyone else wants to know:
How to clear a message alert during a run on a Garmin Forerunner 255: • Press the Down button (this shows the message) • Press the Back button (this clears the message)
I will probably keep doing these mini-runs for a while to see how they go. In a way, it feels like cheating because they’re so quick. I’m sure my body will show me otherwise soon enough.
NOTE: I forgot to stretch before the run. We'll see if that has any impact later!
Run 812 Average pace: 5:29/km Training status: Productive Location: Brunette River Trail Start: 11:34 a.m. Distance: 2.59 km Time: 14:13 Weather: Cloudy, some sun Temp: 13ºC Humidity: 87-85% Wind: light to moderate BPM: 154 Weight: 167.9 Total distance to date: 5937.6 km Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation) Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 5 (72.6/142/214.6 km)