Monday, July 7, 2008

TGIM!

I hate to say it, but I am glad it's Monday. I need a fresh start.

It was an odd weekend, mostly good, but I am exhausted again and glad to have some structure in my day.

My weight has pretty much held steady. I was hoping to see a dip to 305, but no such luck yet. Perhaps this week! Running has been really, really difficult for some reason. I'm not sure what is going on, but maybe I am just worrying too much. So, Friday was a rest day, and Saturday a 30-minute walk was on the schedule but I did three and a half hours of gardening and yard work instead, i.e. yanking miles of creeping Charlie and other invasive species out of the jungle garden, trimming bushes, and generally tidying things up. I must have sweated about 3 gallons' worth and had nothing left after that. On Sunday, I was in no shape to, and I got a late (9am) start on my scheduled three mile run. I thought there was no way I would be able to make it through, but I tried anyway since a lot times what happens is that those days are always the most successful. Not this time! I barely made it a half mile before I had to walk, and I only covered about 1.5 miles total, about half and half running/walking. It was so disappointing, but what can you do? It's not always going to be great out there, I know.

Today, thankfully is another rest day, which I really need. In fact, I have been considering taking a week off from running, if only to have some relief from the low-grade pain I've been living with since I ran the 5K. I can't seem to shake it totally, and it kind of sucks always walking around trying to ignore it. Or is that what you have to do as someone "in training" as I consider myself? Does everyone feel soreness all the time?

Sorry to sound like a baby about this. I'm just not sure if I should continue on with my program, scale back, or just rest for a week. Tomorrow's run is a 1.5-miler, and I may try it just to see if it goes any better... maybe I will just stay at 1.5-2 miles for a couple weeks before I continue with Spring Training. The 3 mile runs really take a lot out of me at this point.

I guess I am discovering that, much like adjusting to a new eating plan, you have to tweak things a bit as you go along, and figure out how much you can handle at a given time. It's such a delicate balance, though. On one hand, I want to challenge myself and not rest on my laurels; on the other, I don't want to take on too much, too soon and end up quitting because it was too hard. It is hard to pull back a little, especially when you're blogging and make your plans public and accountable to so many people, but the reality is that if I push too hard, I'm going to either hurt myself or get discouraged, or both.

So that's where I am at today. Feeling weary and a little down, but still willing to figure out how I can move forward to the next level, and still wanting desperately to reach my goals. Ultimately, that's the most important thing, isn't it?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey sweetie! I think you should take the week off. That is what I did at the end of my C25K I went basically 6 days without a run and when I started back I was stronger for it and my shins are better for it.

You did a lot starting in to the spring training coming right off doing a lot of running including that 5k and then another stab at a 5K and then if I recall you ran on monday and then started in to the spring training on Tues. It was probably too much too soon and that it never a good thing.

Being sore is kind of normal when you change things up but when it is low grade and constant and starts affecting your oomph during a workout you should listen to your body. For me, when it is just normal soreness I feel better after I warm up and when I need a rest I feel no better or worse/weaker.

I've read lots of advice on running that say, particularly in the early stages, that you improve, not during the runs but during the rests between them. If you aren't resting enough then you will be burned out and hurt and end up resenting the running because it is too hard on you or worse you will get injured and need to take a lot more than a week off.

Take the week. I can hear it in your post that you really truly need it. This isn't a cop out. Let your nervous system recover and during the break, to keep you motivated, focus on food. Learn some new healthy recipes or develop some of your own. Make a fridge full of healthy stuff that you can take out of the freezer on a busy day.

Okay... sorry about the long comment. You are doing great and it sounds like you know the difference between an okay sore and a not so good sore you just need the confidence to listen to your body when it talks to you.

Anonymous said...

I vote for a rest. I suspect that you are afraid to stop in case you don't start again, but I am sure you will. You run because you love to run, and you will miss it after a few days rest when you are feeling better.
Give yourself permission to listen to what your body is telling you. It has taken me a while to be able to do that, but I am getting better at it now. Trust yourself.

Brightcetera said...

I know how you feel about publicly declaring your intentions in your blog. It's ok to tweak, it's YOUR life, not ours out here in blogland.
I find myself tweaking my plans almost daily. I'm beginning to make peace that there's nothing wrong with this. What I feel like doing one day doesn't work for me the next.
I find walking to be an excellent exercise & I'd keep that up for sure.
Hope you feel up to par soon.

radiosilents said...

Wee: I have to say, your reply almost made me tear up a little... All you said I think I really needed to hear, so thank you for such a wonderful and thoughtful response.

Batty and Katschi: Just thank you! Your comments mean a lot.