In the Zone

While chatting after a group run this morning a fellow runner made a comment to me about being “in the zone.” It may be a cliché, but I realized that is exactly how I have felt the past couple of weeks.

I am in a training limbo this month. My marathon training will officially begin mid-July, so this month I am running for the pure joy of it with no programs to follow and no pre-set distances. I have been somewhat guided by the full calendar of runs organized by the West Volusia Runners, but with each run there are multiple options for distances and runners of every skill level to pace with.

I wear my watch and continue to use the Sportypal GPS app on my phone, but these are afterthoughts. I give very little advance thought to pacing and run moment to moment based solely on my perceived level of exertion.

The only serious planning I do before running lately is hydration.

The results have been dramatic. I’m running faster, significantly faster. I’m recovering quickly. I’ve added an extra workout each week. I feel absolutely euphoric.

I have been pushing myself fairly hard for the past few months and I think I might have been on the verge of overtraining. This month has been exactly what I needed to get both my mind and body in the right place before the training gets serious again next month.

I’m in the zone.