I don’t know about you, but I find that technology can sometimes be rude. I have a Garmin that keeps chirping at me about my training status and keeps on predicting race times that are not realistic and stating that I’m unproductive when I feel great amongst other unfounded statements. Now I know that I shouldn’t be paying THAT much attention to a watch, but there’s always a part of me that wants to prove that piece of expensive metal and rubber wrong…. and we all know where that can lead ;). Your paces creep faster than they should and you question all the logic and good sense that you’ve painfully learned through reading, experience and great coaching.
This has been a bit of a challenging week for running with making sure I get my runs in during our trek back from Mont Tremblant and the crazy humidity. While I’m still on a high from witnessing the amazing Ironman triathletes including our own Allana, my energy level has been a bit low and I am in week 3 of another mileage build. I know I know better, but I even had to e-mail Coach Erin to confirm that I shouldn’t squeeze in a run that I had missed due to the weather (more than likely a sub-conscious move on my part). She even added a warning of not adding little bits to my other runs to make up for it…..she knows me well! #FierceAndFearless needs to be tempered with #RestIsTraining & #TrueSteadyPaces
As the week was ambling along I received the recent McMillan Running newsletter and it felt like the first article was aimed directly at me. He quoted a couple of his mentors on how important recovery is and suggests some strategies to accelerate recovery. ACCELERATE RECOVERY….he got my attention! Now there was nothing earth shattering about this. Most of these things have been mentioned to me in the past couple of weeks but sometimes it takes a little sign like this article to motivate me to action. So based on his suggestions, this is what I did for recovery in the past 2 days.
Rest ✅ Have been getting good night’s sleep and took advantage of an extra rest day this week.
Hydration/nutrition & “slumpbuster” meal) ✅ ❌ ✅ Been hydrating very well, still need to work on my on-the-run nutrition plan and finished my long run day with the yummiest burger, fries & an Old Fashion at 2 Doors Down.
Funny shows/News fast ✅ Ignored the news & took in the movie Good Boys today and had some great belly laughs. Highly recommend this coming of age movie that will make every adult LOL!
Ice baths ✅ My husband took way too much pleasure in dumping ice onto me in the bath tub after my long run yesterday. I will do more of these in the coming weeks….they work!
Mobility ✅ While I would benefit from yoga, my 15 minutes of mobility & prep before my runs and my 15 minutes of stretching afterwards have been working well.
Modulation ❌…. not ready to put the check next to this one yet….
After I read this article, I shared this with one of my tribe mates Sarah. She was going to be with me for 20 of my 28K on Saturday. I figured this would be a great read for us prior to our run as we both kind of have an issue with finding a steady pace. She’s faster than me, but we’re close enough together that I can hang on to her steady paces. She even reminds me of this as we start our run. Of course, typically we had to consistently pull ourselves back throughout the run. She even let out a ‘tsk’ when I used one of our best excuses: “But it’s downhill!” I knew by the 19th K that I had run too fast (it takes me awhile🤪) and by the 25th it was clear my on-the-run-nutrition plan didn’t work and while I finished my run on a high note, I knew I needed to get my steady pace under control. I still have 9 weeks of long runs to go before the big show in New York.
So….what to do? Had to start with my recovery run (even these have been a bit too quick….) the following day. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday that had just that little touch of coolness that adds a spring to your step. This could be dangerous, but I didn’t let that deter me. I kept myself in check, I held back on the downhill, didn’t push on the uphill nad cruised to a stop at only 2 seconds too fast off my desired steady pace ! Success…..for today at least 😃
So not quite ready to ✅ the modulation yet but am happy to see there are more ✅ than ❌. I can certainly see how recovery allows me to train harder. Safe to say that I’m still searching for steady… One of my goals is to get to #TCSNYC ….uninjured !
Any other suggestions for recovery tips for me to consider?