Signed Up For A Marathon?

I have committedagain to the regiments of training for a marathon.  This will be the third for me.  It wil be Kelowna's BMO Okanagan Marathon.  This week I pushed my times to see if I could get back to my old ones and am taking a few days to rest my poor butt.  Literally!  Stretching my hip flexors and massaging will keep the injuries that come to me with speeding up away!

Its been a humid summer for running which is a hinderance to speed for me as well, but I am seeing good gains.  My goal was to amp up the mileage to over 40 km per week and keep raising it. 

Have you signed up for a fall marathon?  The serious training starts soon depending on your plan.  One rule I try to stick to is to not increase more than 10% per week in mileage for the long run and over all, as I pay for it in injury, feeling it in my glutes.  Stretching and masaging helps stave off long bouts of recovery.  Happy training everyone!

REST is the BEST

There is a differencebetween being a lay-about and truly resting.   Sometimes when life is getting too crazy and demanding, its tough to get your butt out the door for a long time sweating and panting, changing and showering.  I am having that kind of stretch.  What I do know however, that in the long run (pun?  oopsy!) it is going to pay off in many worthy ways.  

That is not how it always works in the payoff department however.  For example, if I have been sleep deprived, I can not preform ideally.  Getting a good nights sleep is paramount to a focussed mind, a regenerated body and a primed recoup from the previous day.  I have gone out for runs in a unrested state and noticed my energy levels have little reserve.

Does this mean I skip whenever I feel tired?  Nope.  It does mean that I may alter my running regime.  A long run may turn to half that mileage.  My intensity may need to back off to a recovery pace.

Rest does not mean stillness on all accounts.  Just as an injury can call for some change up in what discipline a person uses, rest can mean perhaps switching how the running looks.  Being a driven person on many accounts, this can be very difficult.  It can represent a threat to the big plan.  However, looking at it form the perspective of staying on the plan long term rather than burning out or being injured, rest can take on a longevity dose!

So , if your schedule is taking it out of you, back off a bit, go for a easy run with  a friend, cross train, or even take a full rest and sleep in.  Your big plan will still be achieved if you think of it as a part of your investment! 

Happy running!

Recovery Run

7 kmtoday as i went at a plus 6 minute km.  Felt really good just to allow my body to shuffle along, not pushing it.  Sometimes I get too caught up in getting to the destination, I lose the joy of just being.  My left hip needed the foamy before I got going, just to loosen up.  All in all a good recovery run, and a nice capper to 40 k for the week so far.  Have you ever added or subtracted while on the run?  I intended to go for 5 km this am.

Taper Tantrums

First time I have been to a sports massage therapist, and it was totally enlightening.  I had to get past the nudity under the blanket, but that was quickly overcome.  I was feeling anxious about my tight piriformis, and its effect on the coming race, so this is what most of the conversation included.  I was pleasantly surprised to hear that most people in training just before the race go through some breakdown.  The therapist calls it Taper Tantrums!  Taper Tantrums refer to the visits frequented by those preparing to race in long races, and because of the intensity peaking just before the race, the body kind of goes into shock, preparing to mend and heal based on the fact that there was breakdown for a long period.  Rest now and recovery is paramount to a good performance.  If the work has been put in, then the race just needs the focus and trust put in as we rest.  Thissettled me, and i was given a clean bill of cautious health for the coming weeks.