Today I did the final run in the Zombies, Run! training program. No more drills, no more mandated stretching breaks, just 45 minutes in which to run at least 5k.
Spoiler alert: I did it. I reckon I covered 5k in just under 38 minutes, which is hardly world-beating but then I did have to walk for some of it. And much of it was into a massive headwind as well. Endeavouring to run while the wind is pushing you the other way at 20mph is not exactly easy. Sheer bloody-mindedness kept me running continuously for very nearly the whole of the first 2k, but it also wore me out to the point where much of the rest was erratic, to say the least. There's plenty of room to improve on my time if I keep at it.
At times like that, when running is a struggle, and especially since this last run didn't include the handy time checks I've been used to getting every couple of minutes, I make a lot of use of lampposts. I tell myself that if I can just keep running as far as the next one, then I can slow down and walk to get my breath back. And when I walk, I tell myself that it's only as far as the next lamppost, and then I'm going to start running again. And then I'll run again, and I'll run until I'm worn out and think I can't go any further, and I'll make myself go as far as the next lamppost before I slow down.
It's a similar approach to the one I use when writing. I found a long time ago that if I really want to write without getting distracted then I have to set myself targets. I write in fifteen minute bursts. Enough time to get going, not enough time to get bored. And short enough that I can wait until it's done before I check Twitter or look at funny cat pictures. I just have to make it to the next lamppost.
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