We are a crazy bunch...
With a little over 2 weeks post marathon I can't control myself. I am ready to run again! Even though my training plan clearly says "recover," I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this concept.
I look at the plan again, no running last week, just a few walks and some cross-training, nothing else, this week, 4 miles at best. This is clearly madness! When I try to sneak an extra run in, my running buddies threaten to report me to the coach and hastily host an intervention on my behalf. I know they are right, but my brain, which is wired for competition and improvement, thinks that a break from a run will automatically equate to the couch of doom followed by at least 5 bags of cheesypoofs. In other words, without a run, taking a break and relaxing, I will clearly turn into a huge lard ass.
Help me, they are right, I am need of an intervention!
But there is another problem. I push myself out the door, sneak out, don't tell my running buddies. I try to slog through 3, 4 or 5 miles. Who will know? How bad could it be? Yet, I am dead wrong. My running buddies are right, It is bad, very bad. My body is still really tired. It is still recovering from my marathon. It keeps telling me, as I peek at my Garmin and gasp in horror at the fact that I am barely eeking out a 14 minute mile, that instead of running, I should be sitting on my couch watching reruns of the Big Bang Theory. On top of this, I am hating every minute of it.
I often forget about the importance of "recover" for a runner. It is crucial for your body to heal itself, take both a physical and mental break from running, especially after pushing yourself for 26.2. When we do not allow ourselves time to heal, we end up injured. We are sore, our form is off and we overcompensate by leaning a bit more here, or perhaps slouching there. Eventually, somethings gotta give and the lean or the slouch end up as a tear or a pull.
Last session, after running a not so great 6th marathon finish, I had an epiphany. I realized that I was a bit burnt out from training. Physically I was tired and mentally I was not loving it much. The result of a poorer race, combined with a slight mental block, got me thinking that perhaps it may be time for a break.
So I took off a few months from running and tried some other activities. I realized that after being a member at my gym for almost 5 years, that I had never really bothered trying out any of the classes they offered. I took a wack at TurboKick, BodyPump, Step, and of course Zumba. It was fun, and I felt a complete sense of renewal. The adaptations I made for each class also helped to strengthen different muscle components. This also allowed me to loose a bit of weight. Because I had done nothing but run for the last several years, I was of out of balance. I had strong legs but my core was weak.
After a few months of Zumba, I was hooked. It was really fun! As a matter of fact, even after resuming my running again, I still take Zumba at least 2-3 times a week for my cross-training activity. Not only has it helped to strengthen my core, because the exercise required for it is so different, I really believe it has helped to improve my running times.
Trying those classes, reminds me of this recover that I am forcing myself to do. It is a way for me to renew my love for running by trying other things or simply taking a much needed mental break.
I will never forget reading a post that my friend Mike put up on Facebook during one of his tapers. He had a pictures of his tomato plants growing from day to day, similar to what it would be to watch paint dry. Each day another picture of a tomato plant with the caption "What to do during a taper." It still makes me laugh, but yes, that is kind of the point of a taper or recover, sit and watch the flowers grow.
In other words, chillax.
I know my coach sets up this plan for a reason, and that is success. The same way that the recover works, the taper is designed to do the same. It is hard for a runner to wrap his/her head around the fact that it is OK to well... do nothing once in a while.
OK, forget the intervention, bring on the cheesypoofs!
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