Workout Wednesday: The Run You Do

Ever hear of the 5k trap?  After I finished couch to 5k back in 2010 and was regularly running 5k several times a week, somehow 5k got set as my "minimum run distance" - meaning, if I didn't do 5k, I figured there was no point in going.
Silly, I know.  That's the 5k trap.
So life happens and you plan a run, but then realize you don't have time to do that minimum 5k...so you skip it.
BECAUSE YOU CAN'T POSSIBLE DO LESS!  THAT'D BE RIDICULOUS!
And then it happens again.  and again.   and again.  Soon, all of your weekday runs are skipped and you are only running your long runs and are wondering why you are hurting and grumpy and not making any progress.  All because you are stuck in the 5k trap.
That was me up until about 6 months ago.   If I couldn't do 5k, I just wouldn't go.   But somewhere along Goofy training, I realized I needed to do something.  So I started running at lunch.  Not enough time most days to do 5k...but I could do 4.
Turns out a couple of 4ks a week are so much better than no 5ks.
Suddenly, I was running stronger.  I was hurting less.  I was training better than I ever had for any other race.  All because I was actually doing it.  Heck - letting go of the 5k trap freed me up to do hills and speed - typically much shorter overall runs - just because I wasn't faulting myself for running under 5k.
Sometimes it's just about the runs we actually do that make us better runners.