is it cheating?
okay so...
is it cheating, if... say...
on your schedule you have a :60 minute run to do.
and... because you were partaking in some jolly good times with a friend that may or may not have included a drink or possibly two of alcohol... you slept in a little late.
and... because it's august and lets pretend you live in a city like.. oh i dunno.... kansas city... it's already hot.
at 8 am.
so... while preparing for yourself a water bottle with delicious gatorade type fluids inside of it you come up with a fantastic plan.
and... that plan involves stashing your water bottle behind a bush, and performing two 15 minute out and backs, so that you're taking in delicious gatorade type fluids every half hour.
but... while running, you decide to alter the plan, and run out for 20 instead. because you're awesome and think that the heat's not even bothering you yet, so.. why turn around?
which... sort of causes you to go into a downward spiral somewhere around 30 minutes because at this point your hot and need delicious gatorade type fluids but your still 10 minutes out.
so that by the time you do find your drink, your inner left arm is chaffing on your skin, you're trying not to let it touch so are running with what looks like a broken chicken wing, your 2 minute lets just go faster. we'll get there quicker, i swear its a good idea moment of mental poopery has made your shins hurt and you notice, after taking a swig of what now you're sure is the sweet nectar of the gods, you're swaying to and fro in some sort of wow. its really hot out here realization and you decide to...
call it quits.
lets say all this happens.
and.. lets say... after arriving back at your air conditioned place of dwelling, the fact that you ran :40 of :60 minutes hits you, and you start to feel guilty.
so... later in the day, you decide to make up for it and go for a :30 run, hoping that it sort of counts as a total of a :60 minute run, because... well because thats what you were supposed to do.
um...
is that?... um..
is that cheating? that scenario there?
i mean... i didn't do it. i would never.. i mean. it wasn't me.
but.. just. out of curiosity. ya know... would it be cheating? if that were what i did?
i just wanna know.
Comments
Not cheating at all I say.
If one WERE to do that, I'd say it's bonus points. Y'know. For running 70 minutes, instead of the originally planned 60. Addition is my friend. Plus, there's a world of research out there touting the benefits of two shorter workouts (as far as health effects go). Those 20 minutes you missed in the first run would have been (a) sucky and unfun and (b) not good quality training anyway.
bravo.
Posted by: *lisa* | August 13, 2007 10:21 AM
HYPOTHECALY speaking I do not think that is cheating at all.
Posted by: Dan | August 13, 2007 10:39 AM
Heck, you just get credit for getting back out there again and doing more (total) minutes than originally planned.
Miles are miles.
Could they have helped out more if they were consecutive miles? Maybe.
Was it better than skipping the second run and enjoying some more adult beverages? Definitely not.
Posted by: Jamie | August 13, 2007 11:04 AM
were you black out drunk when you were running? and did you have booze in your gatorade? cause that would be funny.
Posted by: Kim | August 13, 2007 11:26 AM
lisa is a genius. and yeah, 8:00 a.m? it's like high noon.
too hot to do anything except go pass out.
I'm giving you an A for having the smarts to know when to fold 'em. (I play a lot of cards.)
Posted by: jeanne | August 13, 2007 12:16 PM
I think that the figurative runner picked the best possible option. I know (unfortunately from experience) that heat + hard effort can = trouble. So, figuratively speaking, the figurative runner did not cheat but made a figuratively smart decision regarding her figurative training and the figurative weather conditions.
Posted by: Phoenix | August 13, 2007 12:21 PM
There is no way that is cheating...IF it were you. Which it isn't, but I see no cheating here.
Posted by: jkrunning | August 13, 2007 01:17 PM
It is not cheating. It is called intelligent training, or a forced break. When you train hard indulging in some luquid rewards is always a good thing.
Posted by: Al Durham | August 13, 2007 01:49 PM
"I" don't think it is cheating... especially if the best of intentions were there, and you were JUST trying to push yourself a little bit further! I think 40 minutes in heat like that is okay!
Posted by: Teacherwoman | August 13, 2007 02:55 PM
Mmmm...yeaaaaaaaah. In my book, that's what we call an overacheiver. You didn't run once. You ran twice.
And let's not forget the fact you definitely did more than 60 minutes.
Posted by: Running Jayhawk | August 13, 2007 03:07 PM
That's SO not cheating. In the way that me only riding 45 out of 62 miles on Saturday and only running 1:00/1:50 on Sunday is not cheating because it's now hotter than the surface of the sun here. And if I would have continued on either day, then I would have been dead and not able to complete ANY more workouts on my plan. So, there you have it. Not cheating.
Posted by: Andra Sue | August 13, 2007 04:14 PM
depends if you took off your runner pants or not...
Posted by: bold | August 13, 2007 06:14 PM
Definitely not cheating but I will second Bold.
Posted by: Laurie | August 14, 2007 08:34 AM