I don’t regret my painful times, I bare my scars as if they were medals. I know that freedom has a high price, as high as that of slavery; the only difference is that you pay with pleasure and a smile, even when that that smile is dimmed by tears. – Paul Coelho
Two weeks, I am told, two weeks off will make it all better. Promises..promises. I’m kidding of course. As disappointing as my last race was and as much as I am tempted to get right back in and push at doing better, training harder, running faster, wisdom has it that I stand a much better chance of performing better in the long-term if I recover well.
The idea of recovering after a marathon, giving your body time to heal, is not a new one and is touted by many pros and coaches as necessary and even critical for maximising your long-term potential. It is true that I’ve never paid much mind to this strain of thought before now, but then I am a believer in listening to your body and the truth is mine was crying out for some rest. That doesn’t mean it was an easy decision to make, on the contrary, it took a friend of mine pushing none-to-gently (we all need friends like that) and finally being struck with the cold to get me to capitulate and surrender myself to two weeks sans running. I felt so terrible the first week – due to the cold firstly and then because I couldn’t run – I couldn’t even go to the gym to assuage my sense of deprivation with a workout and was forced to rest. Seems one benefit of recovery is to boost the immune system to guard against viruses, colds and such. Any wonder I needed it? During this recovery period, the focus is on muscle and cell repair and giving my immune system the boosts it needs by resting, sleeping and eating well.
Once I’m working with a goal I’m much more receptive, so this past week hasn’t been so bad. I’m on the mend and proved it with some gym classes, consider it light cross-training. Next week, I’ll resume with some light running as a slow build-up to getting back in training mode. No surprise there..I’m a runner aren’t I? There are races to run, new courses to discover, runners to meet and hopefully PRs to be made. With Boston 2016 behind me, though the disappointment will be with me for a while, I’m relieved and anxious to see what this new running phase will bring. Also, I’m looking forward to shaking things up a bit in the hopes of garnering better results. This is me; always looking at ways to improve as an individual and as a runner; the responsibility and power to do so is mine.
source: womenfitness.co.uk
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