Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Top O' The Mountain

If you’ve ever trained for a big race you know that there are both highs and lows. We’re not talking just mild little fluctuations either. There are HIGHS and there are LOWS. Personally, I have some days where my legs seem to float across the earth effortlessly as if was skimming over water. Then there are other days where my body feels so clunky and heavy that I start to question if previous race finishes were actually done by the same person.

Running is so much of a mental sport in addition to being incredibly physically demanding. It can be easy to forget those highs when we’re in the pits of despair. The trick is to know in your heart that even if you had a crappy run, a string of crappy runs, or even weeks of feeling uninspired about running, the pendulum always swings back the other direction eventually.

Sometimes the ol’ body needs a break. If you’re overtraining or not getting enough rest this can be your body’s way of saying HEY THERE! SLOW DOWN! Then again, sometimes it it’s just the ebb and flow of training. Say you’re at the peak of training for a long distance race. You’re going to be fatigued after weeks and months of building up. You should be! That’s why everyone looks forward to tapering into race day. I like to call it “standing at the top of the training mountain.” Sometimes it’s the biggest pain in the butt to reach that peak but man, is the view ever nice from the top.