After a really good winter of training, I have eventually ran myself to a standstill. As anyone who has been reading my blog will know the first 3 months of this year I was running 80 to 85 miles and 3 good sessions a week, I did a few of the local relays and then Blyth and North Tyneside 10k’s. My races went well, but looking back I think I actually peaked about two weeks before Blyth, I was flying in sessions, running fast and feeling strong. The last few sessions haven’t been going so well, I’ve been feeling more and more tired and this Tuesday it all ground to a halt.
My session was 3x2k with a lap jog recovery, I ran my efforts slower than I’ve ever gone before, I didn’t feel any pain, I wasn’t injured, my breathing was ok I was just running on empty. After the session I had a chat to Max about how things were going and what my plans are for the summer.
I’m not a prolific racer, I like to pick an 'A' race, train hard, do a low key 'C' race, back off a little and do a couple of lead up 'B' races then taper and peak of my A race; I usually have about 3 A races a year. This summer there are a couple of road 10k’s id like to do, Max wants to see me racing a couple of times on the track, id like to do a fast 5k, then there is the Blaydon race (a must). As well as this I have my Stag do, Wedding and Honeymoon. Max asked when I would be taking some time off as it seemed to him that my whole year just seemed to go from one race to another without any recovery, he has a point. I do have easy weeks but very, very rarely actually have a period where I’m not running, Following this conversation we decided that I would take this week off.
I won’t have lost any form in a week, so I should be able to pick up where I left off, but hopefully with fresh legs.
I’m not a prolific racer, I like to pick an 'A' race, train hard, do a low key 'C' race, back off a little and do a couple of lead up 'B' races then taper and peak of my A race; I usually have about 3 A races a year. This summer there are a couple of road 10k’s id like to do, Max wants to see me racing a couple of times on the track, id like to do a fast 5k, then there is the Blaydon race (a must). As well as this I have my Stag do, Wedding and Honeymoon. Max asked when I would be taking some time off as it seemed to him that my whole year just seemed to go from one race to another without any recovery, he has a point. I do have easy weeks but very, very rarely actually have a period where I’m not running, Following this conversation we decided that I would take this week off.
I won’t have lost any form in a week, so I should be able to pick up where I left off, but hopefully with fresh legs.
I have a couple of races coming up, the Gordon Smith relays then the North East Counties track 5000m, I really like the Gordon Smith relays, but I haven’t done it in a couple of years so I’m looking forward to them, the only problem is getting there on time, it’s a struggle getting there on time traveling from Durham on a week night, but it’s a good night.
I’ve now had my week off and I’ll be back down the track tomorrow night, I know a lot of runners and most of them struggle with time off running, I’m the opposite. The more time I have off the less I can be bothered to get back into it. I push and hurt so much in training I think I just get used to not hurting. Having said that, this week I’ve replaced my running with some killer core sessions. Just about every night I’ve been working out in the living room, Planks, crunches, hill climbs, Swiss ball, Med ball and Kettle bell, I’m feeling strong and my six pack is coming on grand.
I’ve now had my week off and I’ll be back down the track tomorrow night, I know a lot of runners and most of them struggle with time off running, I’m the opposite. The more time I have off the less I can be bothered to get back into it. I push and hurt so much in training I think I just get used to not hurting. Having said that, this week I’ve replaced my running with some killer core sessions. Just about every night I’ve been working out in the living room, Planks, crunches, hill climbs, Swiss ball, Med ball and Kettle bell, I’m feeling strong and my six pack is coming on grand.