Last week I had one of those sucktastic runs that just makes me question why I even bother trying to keep up running. On Friday, I hit the treadmill for one of my standard easy 3 milers. Unlike Tuesday's run which was done exclusively at an incline of zero, I decided that, for atleast 3/4 of a mile, I would ramp up the incline to 1.0. This move wasn't new; the past few weeks I've been running on a slight incline for most of my easy treadmill runs in order to both make the 'mill a bit more challenging and to make the transition to the road a bit easier. So, given I'd essentially run Friday's run, incline and all, multiple times before, it should've been a walk in the park. Wrong. From the slow start (6.3 mph on the treadmill or 9:30/mile) to the end, I was exhausted, out of breath, and heavy-legged. I probably should've heeded the warning signs at the start of the run and nixed the incline and speed increases but that would've just made too much sense. Instead I pushed through the run"as planned" cursing and yelling at myself the entire way. By the end there wasn't a positive thought about myself in my head. I was fat, slow, never-going-to-improve, and wasting-my-time-trying-to. These thoughts carried well into my post-run stretch and even came home with me.
This "break down" was probably a long time coming; ever since I started running after the 1/2 in January, I just haven't felt good. On top of a slew of want-to-be injuries including tendonitis in my right achilles and shin, I've felt tired and heavy for weeks now. As I alluded to in last weeks training plan post, my body is clearly telling me I need more time to recover from Phoenix, but until Friday, I was taking that to mean, keep running, but maybe slightly less than you originally planned. Now I'm considering the opposite: no running for atleast week. Of course, I'd try and substitute in some cross-training for running but bottom line, I don't think I should run for a bit.
Or is that really the case? In some respect, I feel like I'm letting a shitty run get me down again and hold me back further. Sometimes I do think it's good to "train through the pain" because sometimes that pain and exhaustion is just a product of your body getting used to a new modus operandi. I mean, it certainly doesn't "feel good" to tear muscle fibers and isn't "relaxing" to repair them. But there does come a point where you're just doing more damage than good.
My problem I think lies in the fact that I don't know where that line between "good" pain and "bad" pain exists. This is likely in part due to the fact that I don't really want to know where it is; I would rather just assume all pain is "good" so that I can keep on my happy little running schedule. But I think it also lies in the fact that that line is much different for the runner I am today, then it was for the runner I was in college. In college, I was leaner, fitter, and more consistent, so doing things like adding three miles to a week was nothing. Today, however, I'm a heavier, much less conditioned, lower-mileage, and low-intensity runner. While I want to believe that adding three more miles or an extra day of running or a workout to a week wouldn't affect me greatly, it very well could and probably does given my current fitness state.
While this is a very important realization, it leaves me with a very big and pressing question: how do I proceed? Am I supposed to consider myself a beginner runner and try a 1-mile a day type of program until that feels good and the add miles extra slowly? Or, given that I do have some history of running, is increasing mileage and intensity appropriate and safe? I have no idea what the answer is which is super frustrating. I guess the only thing I do know is that right now, I am not feeling good, which implies something needs to change.
I suppose this leads me to this week's training plan. Originally, I was slated to log 15 miles for the week which included a 4 mile run at moderate pace (under 9:00/mile) and a 6-mile long run. While it's tempting to run it, I think I'm going to err on the side of caution and take the week off from running. My achilles and shin could atleast use it and it certainly couldn't hurt the rest of my body. The plan would be to take Monday-Wednesday completely off, cross-train (probably pool running) Thursday, Friday off, Saturday cross-train, and Sunday off. The following week I may start running again but we'll see. I do want to start running again soon as I have already committed to the Runnin' O' the Green Island 4-miler in March but how soon will depend on how I'm feeling.
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