Washing Away Winter
With spring comes warmer temperatures but also rain! What I love about spring rain is how it washes away the snow, cleans up the streets and prepares us for summer. Running is more enjoyable again, instead of enduring some days. We’ve turned our clocks forward so we are getting more daylight and generally people just seem happier. We’ve made it through yet another winter. At least that is how I feel 🙂 Some people love winter, I do not hate it but it is the least favourite of the four seasons for me.
Sick and Tired
I cannot remember the last time I was sick, like at all, but it has been years. I was hit with what seems to be a cold almost 2 weeks ago now. Started with a severe headache but seems to be mainly a dry cough and heavy/congested chest. It makes running a wee bit more challenging. I was so sick last week and not sleeping well, that I was not able to run at all. It was a challenge just breathing so running was not wise. I felt better for my long runs on the weekend so on Saturday I tackled 23K with a friend. It was good. The weather was beautiful, the sun was out and overall we did great. By that evening, I was coughing up a storm and struggling to sleep. I had decided to skip Sunday’s long run as we need to be wise when we are sick, sometimes the body needs the recovery time more. I woke up, after a few hours sleep, feeling pretty good so I decided to get out for my run while I could. Another 23K was completed, and it wasn’t pretty. The first 10Km’s were pretty good, the in between was becoming a struggle and the last 5km’s were down right challenging. My legs were tired!
Training and Learning
Sundays run was difficult but was a fantastic training run because I learned a few things:
- I’m mentally tough – I whine in my head but I get it done.
- I figured out what genuine tired legs felt like and it’s okay to push on tired legs.
- Tapping into why you run or why you are training for long distance really helps when it gets tough.
- It’s great to save music for when you really need to zone out or be motivated by a good beat.
- I recovered better and faster than I usually do, which means I am getting stronger.
Life is busier than ever and going to get even busier for the next 2 months or so. Figuring out how to cross-train is going to be even tougher as the weeks progress.
My goals for the next few weeks are to include yoga and strength training into my weekly training.
I’m also working on a few fundraising ideas for April and May. My coach has just returned from his own amazing epic adventure so we will be kicking up my training even more in the weeks to come.
It’s an adventure 🙂
How do you fit it in? What kind of cross-training do you include with your running?
