Training

I am one of those runners who do not go by a fixed training plan.

I go out of the house on running days, walk to my starting point on the main road about 300 meters away, and then run my usual 5:00-5:30 mins/km average pace for my set mileage for the day which is from 6 to 10 kms. Cruise intervals, fartleks, hills, track workouts - I read all about these and have an awareness of how they help improve performance but much as I think of doing one or two, that's all it usually ends up to: a thought!

The nature of the terrain here in Kidapawan City forces me to run through a lot of moderate ascents and descents, though. That's the closest I have to running hills. And I would like to believe that it has helped build my endurance.

Tapering? That's another thing that I read a lot about but don't put into serious practice. A week before a race, I still go out on my usual pace at the usual distance, although I make sure that I don't run the day before the race.

Sometimes I ask myself: would I have barged into the top ten of my age group if I had followed a fixed training plan?

Maybe one of these days I could really seriously work out one and follow it to the letter. Then I'll see about "barging into the top 10."