So I've made it through 8 days of my 3 week, self-imposed, running restriction. I decided long before the Blue Ridge marathon that I would take a 2-4 week rest after this training cycle. The week of the marathon, I decided 3 weeks would be the right amount, this time. Is it easy, NO! while sometimes I do enjoy the break, and the time to focus on other things, it's hard to put the training aside. I take the break for longevity. I think it's so important to have mental breaks to the hard training that I do. If you've been reading, you know I like volume, and I also like quality running. This is tough training, and while I thoroughly enjoy it, I know it's important to take some mini-breaks throughout the year. These mini-breaks allow me to take a short break, and help me to avoid burn-out. Trust me, after the 3 wk run restriction, I will be 100% ready, and pysch'ed to pick back up, and start back with base running miles.
Now that a little time has passed and I reflect on BRM26pt2, VA, I have to say this marathon ranks number 2 or 3, of my 24 marathons. I would say it ranks 3rd in beauty - behind ST. George, Utah - 1, and Mt. Desert Island, Maine - 2. If I'm ranking on the overall experience, the BRM moves up to number 2, in my personal ranking. This is not a reflection of either course, or management of the races, but more a personal experience of how I "raced" at BR vs. MDI. I had a good race at BR, on "America's toughest", so that makes it extra special for me. For me, St. George is still number 1. The SGM course is beautiful,scenic, and it's a fast course (if you run it smart), and it's my PR, which of course, makes it special in my heart. SGM will not be my PR much longer (it won't!), so it will be interesting to see how the rankings change in races to come......
The non-training:
7 days of 30 min. walks, and 2:00 mountain climbers
this wk I limited myself to 30 minutes.
today - the time restriction is lifted - I was happy to go for a 5 mile walk
this week - I will add some yoga, biking, and walking, but all easy, and will go with the "whatever-whenever" approach.
I'm already getting excited about the training to come this summer. I've been listening to podcasts (Endurance Planet - Ben Greenfield and Lucho, Cut The Fat, Jillian Michaels, etc.) I'm hopeful that we will have a local group, training hard for fall racing. I know I will be..... Should be a fun summer ahead.......
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| #WalkLA- April 2012 |
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| Daylily - April 2012 |
2 comments:
That's great that you won the entry to your marathon. Congrats on a tough course! Enjoy your well deserved rest and relaxation time.
You are so disciplined and well-structured - it is always impressive to us. Just as a wandering, side thought: do you know how valuable walking/hiking regularly is for mountain/trail runners??? ;-) You are preparing well and may not have even realized it! Seriously, though, it is important to take some quality rest time from hard training and we're glad to see you doing it. Have a wonderful week!
PS: Have you ever done Pilates? When we were in Pagosa, there was what we think was a Pilates studio near the place we were staying and it was intriguing (we tried not to stare as we walked by, you'll be happy to know!. :-)
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