It's Week 11 of my training for the Barcelona marathon, and so far my week included two missed workouts out of three. I skipped them by choice, however, and I'm not sorry about either of them.
I ran 17 miles on Saturday with my running partner in a relentless rain shower, which although wasn't particularly heavy, was constant and at almost freezing temperatures. Neither of us wore gloves, and by the sixth mile our fingers had become completely numb. Over the next two hours my hands fluctuated between experiencing a total loss of sensation and a swollen, painful feeling that manifested itself in regular, shooting pains up both my forearms. The vague idea that I was having a heart attack did cross my mind, but in a rather hopeful way, because I knew that would lead to a warm bed somewhere protected from the brutality of the weather. But of course I was fine; my fingers are still attached, and as my friend said, "If you can finish this run, you can do anything." After all, my training must be going well if the most uncomfortable part of my body following a 17 mile run is my fingers.
On Sunday I went for a short walk on the beach and felt physically exhausted by halfway. On Monday, circuit training day, although I felt recovered physically, I felt drained mentally, and decided that the benefits of a quiet night in would far outweigh those of a hard two hour session. On Tuesday, my three mile lunchtime run day, I didn't run; not because I didn't want to, but because I've come to realise that it is not worth my time and effort of changing at lunchtime, running three miles, leaping into the shower, changing again, trying to subdue my wet hair, inhaling some food, and then changing again for yoga three hours later. I plan to revise my mid-week run strategy to something more manageable. (Despite being a marathon runner, I am inherently lazy whenever the opportunity arises, and washing my hair and changing several times a day in a hurry puts me on edge; it also contradicts my No Rushing rule).
So, my only workout this week so far consisted of yoga, which stretched me luxuriously inside and out. I have a 5 mile timed run tonight and my legs will not thank me for my sedentary week, but they have no choice in the matter.
I ran 17 miles on Saturday with my running partner in a relentless rain shower, which although wasn't particularly heavy, was constant and at almost freezing temperatures. Neither of us wore gloves, and by the sixth mile our fingers had become completely numb. Over the next two hours my hands fluctuated between experiencing a total loss of sensation and a swollen, painful feeling that manifested itself in regular, shooting pains up both my forearms. The vague idea that I was having a heart attack did cross my mind, but in a rather hopeful way, because I knew that would lead to a warm bed somewhere protected from the brutality of the weather. But of course I was fine; my fingers are still attached, and as my friend said, "If you can finish this run, you can do anything." After all, my training must be going well if the most uncomfortable part of my body following a 17 mile run is my fingers.
On Sunday I went for a short walk on the beach and felt physically exhausted by halfway. On Monday, circuit training day, although I felt recovered physically, I felt drained mentally, and decided that the benefits of a quiet night in would far outweigh those of a hard two hour session. On Tuesday, my three mile lunchtime run day, I didn't run; not because I didn't want to, but because I've come to realise that it is not worth my time and effort of changing at lunchtime, running three miles, leaping into the shower, changing again, trying to subdue my wet hair, inhaling some food, and then changing again for yoga three hours later. I plan to revise my mid-week run strategy to something more manageable. (Despite being a marathon runner, I am inherently lazy whenever the opportunity arises, and washing my hair and changing several times a day in a hurry puts me on edge; it also contradicts my No Rushing rule).
So, my only workout this week so far consisted of yoga, which stretched me luxuriously inside and out. I have a 5 mile timed run tonight and my legs will not thank me for my sedentary week, but they have no choice in the matter.
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