So it’s been a while but I’m back. Once again I was out and about traveling on business last week. Another week spent finding new and exciting locations near my hotel to run. But that’s not really what we are here for, now are we? This last week the mileage did increase yet again. We ran 5 miles on Tuesday, 8 on Wednesday, 5 on Thursday, 8 on Saturday and then 18 miles on Sunday. Sunday was a first for a couple things for me. First off it was the longest I’ve run so far in my short existence on earth and also the first time I hit a major…
Sunday mornings run started off great. The weather actually was playing along for once. It was cool, overcast, with a very slight mist in the air… Perfect for getting in some miles. Off we went… then at around the 12 mile mark there it was…ARGH!!!! For the next six miles I questioned many things to include everything from what was I doing to what did I do differently this last week. Was I getting enough sleep, enough water, enough fuel… was I increasing the mileage to fast???? Why was I able to run 17 miles last Sunday strong and still feel like I could have run farther? Or was it a combination of all of it? The remainder of the day I sat around sore without much motivation to do much.
The Monday morning came and to my surprise… I wasn’t near as sore as I thought I would be. What evil voodoo had befallen me to reek such havoc on my training? So after a little thought and reflection this is what I’ve come up with.
1. It happens. It’s not a common thing but there is just going to be some runs that suck… try to prevent it, but deal with it when it does happen.
2. What you do, don’t do, eat, don’t eat, drink, or don’t drink will effect your performance either positively or negatively. Some of this will be in our control and some won’t.
3. Everyone of us will hit a wall at some point… it’s what we do after that abrupt collision that is important.
I have spent the majority of my adult life involved is some sort of physical fitness activity. I have never really experienced the physical and emotional event like I did for those last 6 miles. But I will say that I am glad I got a taste of it on a training run and not during a race. I am sure there might be a couple other walls in my future and hopefully I will be a little more prepared to not only try and prevent it but also to be able to push through it when it does happen.