Hello Team!

I’m just going to go ahead and post my worst nightmare as a runner, assuming that you might share it, too:

“The week of the race, your knee starts throbbing. By Saturday, you’re hobbling. You can’t ignore the handwriting on the wall. You’re not going to be able to run the Sunday morning race. You have a knee injury.” (Runner’s World , 2001)

There it is! You train hard, perhaps too hard, get a sidelining injury and are out of the race!

This happened to me a few years back when I was training for the Cape Cod Marathon. Ignored shin splints teetered over the line into near-stress fractures. The only cure? Rest.

“People think, How can I overtrain on 20 miles per week?…But you can if you don’t give yourself the rest you need. You don’t get stronger because you did an awesome workout, you get stronger because you ate right, slept, and recovered afterward.” (Runner’s World, October 2007)

Early in training, we are beset by what I like to call the Excitement Demon and his two minions Fresh Legs. Excitement! You are training for Boston! For Camp Shriver! You’re going to do it!

The schedule is light, perhaps even lighter than your normal weekly mileage totals. So you train above and beyond and then–

Burn out. Legs, injury, fatigue, you name it.

I know that many of you are running more than what Rick’s plan calls for, mostly because the plan right now calls for less mileage than you are accustomed to. And that’s fine.

But be careful and don’t overdue it! Rest those legs now, so they will be ready for higher mileage later! Shoot Rick an email and ask him about your current mileage and the schedule.

Mostly, over the holiday season, I want to remind you to take care of yourself and of your body – you are your own greatest asset, after all!

Tips from Marathon Nation:

• Keep your training within the bounds of stress that your body can handle.
• Realize that the limits on stress that apply to your body are likely different than the limits needed by others.
• After each increase in distance or speed, stay at the new level as long as it takes for your body to adjust to the new stress.

TRAIN SMART, Team!

-Barbara

 

P.S. Here are some more links for you to check out:

• www.marathonnation.us/uncategorized/the-real-meaning-of-the-10-rule
• www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/10-percent-rule
• www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/sports/playmagazine/02play-physed.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1356029085-IbL13y1GJb+6dlwsKfKv8w

 

P.P.S. Have you realized that Runner’s World is my favorite?