The Tough Part of Training

Sometimes the most difficult part of training hard isn’t the training part at all.  It is that little voice inside my head that causes me to question whether I’m pushing too hard or not.  Have you ever had a running injury that you brought on by ignoring your body?  Does it make you crazy when you get a little twinge in the same area again after you've recovered?  Thankfully, I’ve been largely injury-free except for one bout in early 2011 when issues with both my IT Band and over-training syndrome simultaneously entered the picture.  I’ve learned to manage the IT Band stuff with strengthening and stretching routines as well as listening when I need another rest day (for me the first sign of too much is a drained feeling in my legs).  I feel like I’ve grown to be more careful in how I train because I never want that to hold me back again.  Sometimes I wonder if that is making me too careful.

Sunday's run in Prairie Creek Park. Can't imagine what I'm allergic to, right?

As I reach this same period during my training, the beefed up mileage weeks where I alternate 60 mi with 40 mi per week for six weeks before I taper, I always wonder what side of the line I’m on.  The problem is: I’m supposed to feel wrecked at this point.  This is what training does.  Improvements in speed only come when I increase the workload.  But at this point, it is also crucial that I don’t dig myself into a hole that I cannot get out of by race day and unfortunately, once full blown over-training is apparent, it is often too late.  That is exactly what happened in 2011.

Skunk Cabbage.  Pretty cool name.

When I question where I fall on that spectrum, I reach out to those around me.  I get responses that range from one end to the other.  “You’re just being a baby.  Quit whining.”  Or “Maybe you should cut back a little and see what happens.”  One response I received even pointed me to an article suggesting that my recent issues with EIA were (via severe adrenal fatigue) a product of my training habits.  Although all these people mean well, I found my head spinning even faster than before.   I found myself wishing that I could just begin my summer trail season since it is much less structured than my approach to road training.  I could just forget about it all and play with the pretty trees.

Redwoods are awesome, in case you didn't already know.

With recent adaptations in my lifestyle (like a dehumidifier, allergen-free dust mite covers for my mattress and pillow, sweeping and mopping incessantly, etc) and a few strategically used medications, I feel myself recovering from the (possibly fictional) hole I imagined myself entering.  I know my body better than anyone else and I just have to trust that.  The truth is, other than the EIA brought on by my allergies, I’ve been seeing my consistent hard work pay off.  
 

 This is today's MRP run.  I tried to hold myself back after halfway, but my legs didn't want me to.  Just 20 sec. slower than Foggy Bottom.

Paces I only dreamed about hitting a year ago are now easy enough that I hold a short conversation while running.  That is pretty fantastic.  Maybe the peak training weeks aren’t too bad after all.