Sunday, September 13, 2015

The Week I Got Sick

After my 24 mile run two weeks ago I was feeling great! I was feeling like I was on track for the marathon that was just over a month away. The week after the 24 miles I was trying to stay on top of training, but by the end of the week I was starting to feel pretty run down. By the the time Friday hit, I had a full-blown head cold. 
Being sick always gets in the way of training and it's always hard to know how much to do when you are feeling under the weather. Even after running competitively for almost 10 years I still don't know how to listen to my body all the time. This was actually the fastest I have every recovered from illness while training, so maybe I am learning! Instead of doing my long run on Sunday like normal, I took Sunday off. Monday I did 10 miles instead of the 16 I was supposed to do, but instead of pushing myself I just took it easy. Tuesday was my first full day back at school and I didn't get home until 7:30 pm and by that time I was ready to sleep. Wednesday I was beginning to feel eager to get back to running, but I knew I still didn't feel 100%. Kristjan told me to run 30 minutes (what's the point right?) actually, I felt like garbage and I honestly don't think I could've gone any longer. Thursday I ran an hour and almost felt back to normal (except for a little leftover snot). By Friday I was able to run 10 miles at my normal pace (7:45-8:00 minute miles). Saturday I did another 10 and today I ran 18 and felt great.

Although, I did miss some training during the past week, I truly feel as though I didn't lose any fitness and I don't think it's going to hurt my marathon at all! I did miss two workouts, but it was a much needed recovery week. 

Here's what Runner's World says about running when you're sick: http://www.runnersworld.com/health/should-you-run-when-youre-sick

Today was my first time not running the Winnipeg 10&10 race in 3 years. I didn't register because I was sick, but I ended up running 30k anyways and I could have probably won the 30k race with the pace I ran for my long run. This year has been pretty different. I have only ran 2 races this year (Boston and Manitoba Half). I guess this is maybe the life of a marathoner... Lots of training and not very much racing. Normally I would have run 6-7 road races by this point in the year. Honestly, I kind of like training better than racing, it's not nearly as stressful (or exciting sometimes). I do feel a little bit more pressure that I put on myself  because I am only doing 3 races this year, like I'm putting all of my eggs into one basket. But I do think I can still go faster for the marathon and I am going to give it everything I've got!

Until next time, drink your chocolate milk and run happy!

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