For elite runners my training schedule would by no means be considered difficult, but as we all know I’m not an elite runner, so a week dedicated to recovery was a welcomed one. The training plan, now half over, dedicated a week for lower mileage, slower paces, and time to get your legs back under you before the final 6 week push to add miles.
On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday when given the choice between “Rest or Cross- Training” …I chose REST! It’s very important to keep your body rested, because a rested body is a happy body. Pushing your body to the limits or past the limits in training only opens the door to injury, so it’s important to listen to your body and give your muscles proper time to rest/recover.
On Thursday night when given the choice between staying in Omaha or traveling to Chicago…I chose Chicago! On Friday I completed some cross training by moving furniture and boxes up a 3-story Chicago building. Stair climbing and weights training are a great cross training activities; combining them was intense! It rained Friday night and Saturday morning, spoiling my plans to run outside in Chicago, so I resorted to the hotel’s exercise area, which for the record, might have been the nicest hotel exercise area I’ve ever stayed in. While running on a treadmill isn’t always fun, running on a treadmill in a different location wasn’t too bad. (I’ll get my chance to run outside in Chicago in 3 weeks, when we return for vacation. Running 20 miles will more than make up for both trips)
Training Tip #2: Change your scenery! Instead of running your normal route and normal distance, introduce variation in your training including: distance, surfaces, and route. It’s been proven that we create habits as runners, which can lead to plateau performance. Instead of running 2 miles, go a little further. Instead of running on the street or running on the treadmill, switch to forest trail or gravel road, and instead of running that boring old route you do every Tuesday, mix it up and run in a new neighborhood or a local trail you’ve never run before.
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