Spreading My Thoughts on the Sheet a Little Further…

I re-read my last post a couple of times over the weekend, and I began to wonder if I hadn’t pigeon-holed myself a little too tightly. Let me esplain…

I think there are basically two kinds of organized people. There are the type-A, super-structured, highly organized, over-achiever types. And there are also highly disorganized, procrastination-prone, slightly disheveled, fly-by-night people, who have been forced to learn special pockets of organized behavior to prevent themselves from slipping completely off the map and into a cluttered oblivion.

I believe I would be a prime example of the latter.

So, if I am going to be organized, I have to find a habit I can maintain and then stick to it. The thing is, I’m still the procrastinating, shoot-from-the-hip, go-as-I-please guy underneath. So my faithful obedience to my training schedule is not so much a day-to-day thing as it is a week-to-week thing. I often rearrange, exchange and switch my workouts to suit my schedule, needs or whims. Just so long as my weekly miles add up to the intended amount, and I get my tempo and long runs in - I am pretty strict about those things - then I’m happy. Sometimes I’m feeling really good one day and go for a few extra miles. Then later in the week, perhaps I’ll be pressed for time, and can give those miles back with a shorter-than-planned run. Sometimes, I’ll be out for an “easy” run, discover in the first mile that I’m feeling really fresh, and switch it over to a speedy tempo run mid-workout. Then that’s done for the week already.

Above all, I obey my body. If I’m not feeling good one day, I cut miles off the run. I’m not afraid to ditch on a weekend long run if I find that I just can’t turn in quality miles. (I try to carry a little cash so I can hail a cab if that happens.) I keep the two No-Run days in my schedule every week so that I can spend them on days I really need them. There have been weeks when the legs just felt worn, and I’ve eliminated the tempo run altogether in favor of an all “easy” week.

So, the training schedule maybe isn’t quite as rigid as I made it sound. There’s far too much of the artist in me to allow the drill sergeant that much control.

As for the quantity of data in my spread sheet? Well, that has just accumulated over time. In the beginning, I just plugged in date, time, distance and maybe splits if I had them. But just like someone who rearranges their living room furniture every six months, I get bored looking at the same thing every time, and get to wondering if there are any new ways to manipulate the data. So, now, after four plus years, there are any number of formulas linked and connected across the sheet. I put one mileage total into one cell and six other cells recalculate in response. I guess the real fun is watching all the numbers piling up.

Still… None of this really explains that spreadsheet art I mentioned. So, I’m probably still weird.