Based on how my body feels right now, I feel like taking the rest of the week off from running. Nothing will hurt my training right now more than continuing to push my body when it’s fatigued.
After I finished the Quicksilver 50K, my body started to feel “off;” more tired than usual. It was a tough race for me and recovery has been slow. Maybe having four 50Ks in 4 months (and all the miles in between) has brought my body to the point where it’s saying, “Hey, I need more rest.” Even the pros can fire on all cylinders for so long before something gives way and burnout sets in, or worse, injury.
When I do run, I’ll keep my miles relatively low and slow until I line up for the 12-hour – Cirque du Griffith Park in a couple of weeks. It’s a flat, 2.5-mile loop, and it’ll be my first timed race. I honestly don’t know what to expect other than going around in circles, and seeing some familiar faces throughout the day.
This past Saturday, I saw some familiar faces for a loop on the Bulldog 25K/50K course.
Going into this run, my energy bank was already low on funds. The fact some noisy neighbors decided they needed to move out that night, didn’t help matters. I woke up exhausted and could’ve used 5 more hours of sleep, but I wasn’t going to bail out.
I met up with Melody, John, Kim, and Martine. The last time I saw Martine was in April at Leona Divide and the last time we did a training run together was over a year ago. I met Kim once before at a pre-Javelina Jundred gathering a couple of years ago.
We all started together, but within a mile or two, Melody ran up ahead, followed by John and Kim, which left me, and Martine to enjoy each other’s company and laugh for all the remaining miles.
We chatted non-stop! Plus I got the lowdown on the Born To Run race where she just finished an epic 150 miles, a few weeks ago! It’s on my possible possibilities race list for 2019 and at this point, I’m not sure where it ranks on priority, but it’s hovering. If I can get her scary encounter with a flying snake story out of my head, Born To Run will rank pretty high.
Saturday was a beautiful morning, and it got hot out there. Some parts are warmer than others, and while I’d like to believe this was a contributing factor to how I was feeling, I know there’s something more going on. Even though it’s easy to forget how tough that early climb-up Bulldog is, I know it wasn’t just that.
Am I dehydrated? Eating well? Maybe eating too well? Is it the lack of sleep? Am I overtraining and simply fatigued? I don’t know, but very early on, there was no gas in my tank.
We all have runs where our body doesn’t feel like pushing the effort. Thankfully, Martine was with me to occupy my mind and engage my laughing muscles so I didn’t get swallowed up by how I was feeling. But I think we both needed that.
We talked and laughed about everything! Turns out, Martine and I have a very similar sense of humor which was awesome. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much during a training run. I can remember the last time, and it’s been a while. But from now on, laughing should be an integral component of training, and this run made me realize I don’t do it enough when I’m training.
Anyway, at the end of the day, everyone completed the training run their bodies allowed them to do, and it was a great day! I got to see people I haven’t seen in quite some time and that was nice.
Eventually, Martine and I turned our run more into a hike because our bodies simply weren’t having it, but that’s okay. She’s still recovering from Born To Run, and me? Well, I might be on the verge of burnout, or just in need of more rest. Either way, we need to respect how we’re physically feeling during training.
On this day, we were simply out there enjoying each other’s company, putting time on our feet on a beautiful day on the Bulldog course, and laughing our way through 16 tough miles.
Thanks for reading and Happy Trails!