Posts Tagged ‘running break’

And I’m never going back. (though I think the Kool-Aid metaphor doesn’t allow you redo’s anyway, since you’d be dead, but I digress…)

I finally get it; a real running break isn’t scary at all.  After 2 weeks off, you feel bouncy and fresh-legged, even if you sat on your ass for 14 days straight.  Your breathing feels smooth and paces return right where you left them.  In fact, you may gently need to remind yourself that first time out when you realize you’re going faster than intended “easy, girl” because it feels that good.  Unless you’re a guy, then you might say something else.

Now, I can see how some people would be really afraid to try it.  I had my own worries that are surely universal: that I’d end up slower, chubby, and huffing and puffing for the next 2 weeks while I attempt to regain all that “lost fitness”.  Hah!  It doesn’t feel like I lost anything, the only obvious change is that my body feels fully rested.

Other reasons someone might resist taking a break (aside from OCD or a literal addiction to running) is if you’re a mileage hound so your year-end total is incredibly significant to you or if you participate in running streaks.  I can see how, in those cases, missing a couple weeks would cause major unrest (read: freak the shit out of you).

But listen, if you’re in this to be your best running self, and most of you are, consider trying it.  Bad things won’t happen!  And remember, I didn’t cross-train one iota, so I’m an extreme example of lazyness.  If I could emerge unscathed, you will too.

So this week goes like this: 6-5-7-5-9 with a couple rest days thrown in there.  32miles total.   So far I’ve gone 6 and 5 and today’s a rest day.  I’m glad Adam suggested those 5s (I was going to add a mile each run) since, as expected, I had some DOMS yesterday.  I probably should have messed with the foam roller in anticipation, but didn’t bother.  Today’s a rest day and the muscle soreness is just about gone, so I’m raring to get back to it tomorrow.

The experiment continues…

A sweet 6-miler awaits this afternoon.  I’m excited to get back out there – a feeling that hadn’t hit me till yesterday when, through a car window, I saw runners on the river path moving gracefully in the gorgeous blue-skied day.  I’m ready.

Points Of Note From My 2-week Running Break

Weight: All told, I gained 3 lbs.  There were a couple nights eating out and one desserty evening featuring this monster vessel o’ icing shared with my New Friend, but for a Frosting Ho such as myself, it was worth it.

This claimed to be a cupcake

My friend Lara also gave me a few scrumptious homemade cookies, but aside from those blips I ate the same as usual.  I’m totally fine with the gain because I know it’ll come off without having to do anything but run.

Lazy ass: I was. It rocked.  The only activity I did was 3 sets of pushups on Thursday, some crunches Saturday and one walk longer than my usual 2-block trip to Whole Foods.  Other than that, I spent my hiatus basically sitting or lying down.

One of my internet running buddies, Chris, mentioned that he’d be scared to take a 2-week no-running break for fear it’d send him back to his old lazy ways…”a slippery slope”.  I would have had the same worry a couple years ago but since so much of my identity is now wrapped up in running, it would be unthinkable to do anything but resume.  I’m sure the confidence of that helped me relax into it fully.

In a way, this lazy stint was like tapering for a marathon; you have to let go and trust that it’s doing you good, so you may as well enjoy it.  Or take spin classes if you’re paranoid.  I prefer laying on a bed, comaesque.

Supplement Stoppage: About 2.5 weeks ago, I quit taking Glucosamine and MSM.  I’d been skipping days before going to California – not on purpose, just forgetting – and though I brought some with me on the trip, I never took it.

Since I’ve been inactive I don’t notice any difference.  Also, I fully expect to have a couple minor aches this week due to resuming running but it seems a good time to reevaluate the need for it.  Due to my proclivity for bursitis-type thingies rather than joint problems, I could see myself needing MSM before Glucosamine, but if I suddenly get runners knee or my ankles start feeling screwy, Glucosamine, here I come.

The Funny Story

Saturday night, I’m at my New Friend’s apartment for the very first time, checking out the bachelor pad and getting a tasty manly-made dinner out of the deal.  The next morning (yesterday) we’re having coffee in bed,  chatting lazily, and I hear the sound of a door close.  Seems really close by, like the front door to the apartment.  A second later, there’s this guy standing in the bedroom doorway (thankfully, we’re both covered in a sheet); it’s a kid in his 20s wearing a Phillies hat and a goofy smile – very personable young fella.

My New Friend (I have to give him a better name soon) is totally nonplussed and says “Hey dude, what are ya doing here?” and the two of them have a little chat about the front door being unlocked.  The kid’s in no hurry to leave so I figure it’s my guy’s relative or a friend.  Finally, the kid says goodbye and splits, while I’m giggling at the ridiculousness of the scene.

Giggles became full-on laughter when I discover that my guy had absolutely no idea who that fella was, he must of stumbled in looking for his pal in another apartment.

The funniest thing was how long it lasted.  If you or I did that, I’m sure we’d be all “Oh my god, I am so sorry!!” and zoom outta there in utter embarrassment.  This guy was just standing around, almost waiting for an invitation to crack open a beer and watch TV with us.  Hilarious.

Headband Review!
Check out this beautiful review for GIMheadbands from the Philadelphia Examiner yesterday.  Talk about coolness, it was totally out-of-the-blue unexpected.  Yay!

that I’m not missing running?  Week One of my 2-week hiatus is over and my only thoughts are snow/ice driven “Sure am glad I don’t have to run on this!” and when faced with a dense empty-caloried dessert, “Eh, screw it” while I ingest with gusto.  No angst, no withdrawal symptoms, no wistfulness, just a tiny amount of guilt for not feeling any of those things.

Since I like to think I’m a lucky person, I consider last Tuesday’s snowstorm and tomorrow’s snow/ice storm proof that the break couldn’t have been timed better, that it was “all meant to be”.  I know that in actuality this is bullshit since February will surely bring more weather-induced suffering, but at least I missed 2 major meteorological messes.  That’s lucky.

Not much else to share right now.  Today I’m narrating a learning module on Anticoagulants (Hirudin is an anticoagulant originally isolated from the salivary glands of leeches…leeches!  Who doesn’t love a good leech fact?) and later I’ll be sending in some mp3 auditions for a Claritin spot.  Additionally, I’ll be smiling in excess for an indeterminate time due to the funny way the world works and how life keeps handing out interesting surprises.  Can’t beat that with a stick.

Now that the idea is in my head, I can tell how badly I need it.  I’m seriously tired, tired of huffing and puffing through tempo runs and interval sessions and working the effort envelope.

Today was a troublesome speed session on the heels of two subpar 6mi tempos within the last couple weeks.  The speed session was supposed to be 5xmi@15k pace w/1min recoveries.  Halfway through the 2nd rep, I was thinking “I have a tempo run in just 2 days but this feels like I’m in the midst of one already and I just did one the other day…too much, I don’t wanna!”  It wasn’t good.

I was shooting for 7:00s, but couldn’t get past 7:05s  and the idea of continuing on for 3 more reps seemed a hellish prospect, so after the 2nd mile, I ditched the long intervals and switched it to 8 x .25miles w/1min rec’s.  In the end, I got 4 miles of fast out of it (total run was 9.75 mi) which is certainly worthwhile, but I feel ragged.  In response, Adam has kindly rejiggered this week’s tempo into 12×200 for which I am eternally grateful.

It’s crazy how without an injury to say “you must stop now” we really don’t have a clue when it comes to limits.  Sure, there are solid symptoms for overtraining, they concern sleep patterns, weight loss, not wanting to run among other things, but when it comes to the phase before that, overreaching, it’s your best guess.  And it’s frustratingly like that for so many areas of this sport.

Tapering, for instance: what’s the best taper for you?  How can you tell?  Even if you have a great race, could have been one thing during the taper period that made it that way, etc.  The only way to truly know what works for you is by many trials, errors and successes to reach that final “Aha!”  Or you can simply keep wearing your lucky red sports bra and say that was it.

Anyway, it continues to be a revealing learning process and despite the number of times I’ve thrown my hands up in the air out of utter frustration, I’m happy that there are still doors to unlock and secrets yet to uncover.  So I bitch, moan, whine and want to lay down to take a month-long nap, but in the end, I remain positive.

That said, Carlsbad may be more “fun run” than race for me.  We’ll see.

Food
With the holiday season, I relaxed a bit and had a little junk, but also, on the good front, I pulled out the long-ignored crockpot.  I love my crockpot but always thought of it as a two-or-more-to-feed appliance.  Well, in an effort to be a better mommy to myself, I’ve started making some wonderful cozy stews and mish-mashes of things that feed me for a few days or I freeze portions.  Today I made this Provençale Chicken: super duper easy – because cooking ain’t my thang – really healthy and yummy, too.  Shove the stuff in the pot, turn it on and go away.  That’s my kind of cooking.

(used 3 skinless breasts though, as per the reviews)

Foot
Went off ibuprofen on Saturday night, had a 17miler on Sunday (started sleeting and I wasn’t dressed for it, so a progression), a 6miler on Mon and an 8 yesterday.  My big toe knuckle was back to smarting on Monday and full-fledged hurting yesterday.  This was freaking me out, however, I think I found the cure!  I’d been using moleskin padding but it wasn’t that thick.   So I cut out a couple pieces from my foam yoga mat (one of those purple jobbers) and taped that around the bad spot…wow! it was like having a cushy pillow on the top of my foot.  That knuckle didn’t bark at all today!  I couldn’t believe it.  It’s been a downer to deal with all this last month, how lovely if it finally gets the boot.

A few weeks ago, Coach A muse/Adam asked when was the last time I had 2 weeks off from running.  I took a glance through my logs and the answer was…never.  Almost 4 years of running and the most I’ve taken off is a couple one-week breaks: May 2008 to tend to an ankle injury and this last June after the collapse/hospital stay.

This has positive implications; I’ve been able keep at it thanks to my body behaving admirably – a lucky thing for such a late-starting couch potato.  But when Adam said he thought I should take a few weeks off after Carlsbad, a feeling of nervousness came over me and I dismissed the idea entirely.  A few weeks?  Such a long time!  I’m not a cross-training gal – I’ll lose all my fitness and turn into a fat pig.

That said, I’ve been mulling it over this last week.  It does seem slightly twisted that I’ve been in training cycles almost non-stop since 2007.  What’s a couple weeks in the scheme of things?  When I came back from the week off in June, I felt no difference at all, so two weeks off can’t be that drastically different.

Then a few days ago, I read this cool thread in LetsRun, which asks What was the most important thing you did in training before a big breakthrough?  A couple people spoke of taking time off (more than 2 weeks, one took 10) and coming back faster than ever.  I bookmarked the thread.

Today, checking in with Adam, he again brought up taking time off and said he couldn’t think of too many serious runners who didn’t take real breaks, saying “Paul Tergat was adamant about it”.   So I told him yes, I’d do it.  I asked if I could do some short runs during this time (because it’s scary to go into this uncharted territory) and he said he didn’t see the point.

As if I needed more confirmation (I don’t, Adam is the voice of reason) I just opened Jack Daniels’ Running Formula to read the section on Planned Breaks which says “Runners should take a few weeks off occasionally as scheduled breaks from training” and “Although runners are often reluctant to take breaks, most breaks are beneficial in terms of overall development.  A break gives both the body and the mind some time to regroup.”  “Sometimes, a couple of two-week breaks fit into an annual schedule quite well, but eventually a more prolonged break (four to six weeks) is probably a good idea.”

Obviously, I could use some regrouping, probably more in my head than body, but both will surely benefit. So this should be interesting, a new experience in this running adventure which turns out to be Not Running.  I won’t be doing any real aerobic activity though I might pull out some pilates and yoga DVDs, maybe take some walks by the river, keep a few push-ups and a little core work to keep the guilt away.  It’ll be good for me, no matter what.

Btw, Joe sent out an email to a few of us last week for ideas on the next Runners Round Table podcast.  Since this has been on my mind, I said I’d like to hear about it in an episode and much to my delight, that’ll be it: Rest, recovery, and aging.  It’s on for this Wednesday at 8pm.  I’m not participating in it, btw, since this is something I don’t have experience in, but am looking forward to hearing more seasoned runners discuss the subject.