Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Was it Overtraining?

I don't know what to call it-- laziness? fatigue? dread? bad attitude? Seasonal Affective Disorder? except that yesterday I did not feel like running. Not even a little bit. Hated the thought! I even rolled my eyes at myself when it came to mind. "OH GAWWWWD, NOT AGAIN!!!!" I felt like I'd just peeled off those stupid running tights. COME ON! I DID EIGHTEEN MILES the other day! GIVE A GIRL A BREAK! Then the voice of Hal Higdon piped in: "Right, missy! THE OTHER DAY. That was LAST week. Let's talk about today, young lady!"
Ok. Fine. I'll run, I'll even take the dog, but I AM NOT GOING TO LIKE IT. Hmmph!

So that's what I did, I ran 2.5 minutes nice and slow, stopping frequently. Physically I felt pretty good, no pain at least, and at some point I even kind of liked it because it was flat and I wasn't in a hurry and I remembered that it finally wasn't raining and that the wind wasn't even blowing. That, and this was the first time I had run this route in a long time, having ditched it for longer, harder routes. It felt kind of subversive to do a little piddly run. Psychologically, what I knew would happen was if I could just get my heart rate up for a little bit, I would remember that running is fun and want to do it the next day. I can't say the effect was immediate. This morning I did not jump out of bed and throw the tights on, but tonight after work I think I will. This week I am going to run shorter and flatter routes to give myself a little rest and repair. I think I need it.

1 comment:

  1. I felt such a downer this past week - I am blaming it on overtraining, as well. You are so right, no pain, no aches, no injuries, just plain ole "don't feel like doing it." I'm back on my game and will be back running tomorrow like a good girl.

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