I was within reach of Garmin’s 2Q 505K running badge this week, and I definitely ran consistently in large part to get it before the June 30 close date.
Today I had scheduled a hill repeat workout, and I also made the mistake of eating a large breakfast since I woke up closer to starving. Let’s also say it wasn’t a healthy set of choices either.
The bottom has fallen out on my energy level. I usually just eat some poached eggs and drink coffee. I slept well the last couple nights, so it was definitely the low quality food this morning. Lesson learned.
I’ll probably go to the gym and do 20-25 good minutes on the elliptical or turbo instead. I’ve logged substantial miles this week, and I don’t mind erring on the side of caution.
A brief thought:
I’ve seen more and more frequently the statement that a runner who runs every day or close to it is yet only “working out twice a week.”
I was momentarily baffled the first time I saw it, before I realized that the speaker only considered speed or tempo sessions an actual workout. The other easy runs were not considered by the speaker a workout.
I don’t want to say that’s right, and I don’t want to say that’s wrong. To some degree, one or the other could be true.
Depending on where you are at in your training, those non-speedwork easy runs may either be valuable hard work, or just junk miles that are wearing you out more than rest, strength training, or another quality workout could help you.
Which case pertains to whom is a case by case discussion, depending on each case’s fitness.
The 128 miles I logged in June are the most I’ve logged since the 141 I logged in April 2019, the month before Vancouver 2019.
I’m not going to totally claim my training got derailed following that marathon, but a lot did happen in somewhat constant succession.
- I got an elbow infection the week after that required medication and rest.
- I hurt my hamstring that summer.
- I moved from Chicago to Vegas that summer.
- The job I transferred into went south and I had to leave it soon thereafter.
- Needing income, I had to go find another job.
- That new job gave me a lot of problems and interfered with my life.
- COVID happened and everything was locked down.
- All races were cancelled.
- Vegas is a hot place and it took 2020 to adapt to the summer climate.
- I eventually had to leave that problem job without a new one lined up, because they were about to close down.
- Needing income, I then had to find another job.
- Despite this, I did start running regularly again, except…
- I got a temp job that was an absolute cluster and required all my energy, so I stopped running until that temp job ended.
- Finally I got a new, decent job in early 2021, and started running regularly enough to train again.
This last few months marks the first time I’ve truly been able to train unencumbered and regularly.
And go figure that handling the higher volume hasn’t at all been a problem. Handling short runs in the extreme heat hasn’t been a troubling ordeal. Handling quality workouts and getting back to long runs, however challenging, hasn’t been unworkable.
The one thing keeping me from regular volume wasn’t my health or my capability. It was mostly life circumstance and other needs.
And as I mentioned before, I spent much of that interim time strength training and cross training at the gym, or going on extended walks. I maintained a good deal of general fitness. I still had a bit of a climb to get back into 30-40mpw running shape, but I wasn’t starting from zero.
So obviously I need to keep it going with Indy in November: Longer runs, tougher quality workouts, continue with steady foundation runs, probably lean on the treadmill to ensure steady pace efforts.