A largely sleepless weekend followed by higher intensity workouts caught up to me, and a moment of clarity emerged during my Friday evening long run: my body needed a break.
I barely slept last weekend as I moved my long run to Friday night and then drove to Scout Camp and back for my cousin’s Mic-o-Say ceremony, giving me back-to-back nights up past 1 a.m. My body’s not used to that anymore since retiring from the newspaper business 18 months ago; 10 p.m. is typical bedtime these days.
In the days that followed I had two six-mile hill workouts at Wyandotte County Lake Park, each giving me 1,184 feet of vertical gain. I also managed two strength workouts and some high-intensity training before logging 15.5 miles Friday night at Shawnee Mission Park.
Midway through Friday’s run, however, it was clear that my system was fatigued and deteriorating quickly. Nothing was painful; no injury concerns or any of that mess; just exhaustion. It made sense since I haven’t given the body a break since Chattanooga.
Final decision: take Saturday and Sunday off completely (except for Sunday softball … if we don’t get rained out). Sleep in a bit each morning; stretch and ice sore spots; scarf down extra green smoothies and fresh fruits; hydrate.
Weekly totals:
Running workouts: 3
Strength workouts: 2
Intensity training: 1
Running miles: 27.5
Vertical gain: 4,053 feet
Looking ahead:
The next two weeks need to be my biggest mileage and time-on-feet weeks, so I’d like to log 50 or more miles and gain 5,000-6,000 feet of vertical each week. Then I’ll have a slight pullback week, followed by closing out training by pacing for Sherrie on Hope Pass at the Leadville 100 before tapering begins.
Chris Wristen 