This week at work has been quite stressful.  My work day started at 6.00am this morning and was constant stress until it finished after 5.00pm.

My workout for today was a one hour and twenty minute, easy pace endurance run.  I have been doing these longer runs at the local park, so after work, I quickly changed and drove to the park.  

I started my run off at a nice easy pace and my mind started to get agitated about work.  As this happened, I started to run faster.  I don’t think I even realized I was doing it.  At the end of my third mile, my watch buzzed me and showed me the time for the previous mile.  It was way faster than I expected and was way faster than I should have been running.

As I processed the pace I was running, I realized that I was not actually pushing super hard.  I was definitely above the target effort level for the workout, but it wasn’t like I was way out of control.  I checked my heart rate and I was hovering between Zone 2 and Zone 3.   I also realized that I was enjoying running at this pace.

I never did slow down.  I was feeling quite strong and was really enjoying the feeling of running fast.  This feeling was relieving the stress from work and therein, lies the key.  Did I go off plan?  Yes.  Was it OK to go off plan?  Also yes.

It’s important to try and stick to your workout plan, but equally, it is OK to occasionally be a little flexible and do what feels right.  The key is doing it consciously and with thought.  Go off plan, knowing you are doing so and be smart about it.  Oh and don’t do it every day LOL!!!