Begin again
Every week Strava resets to 0 km and every week you have to begin your week’s training from that 0 kilometres. Sometimes, its hard to get over that line and to re-kick off the process. Once over the line, its started and you are soon into a groove. Of course, there is also all the preceding weeks to look back to – what’s banked, is banked!
A standard trick is to simply commit to a short run and getting out there; usually, once running, its easy to keep going and complete what you had scheduled. I also find that having Monday as a run-day, rather than rest, is better because it carries the momentum from the previous week forward. There is less to start off from, less of a break. Tuesday can then become the rest day instead or, in fact, any other day where you may have less time to commit to running or when you need a break.
I took a rest day yesterday (Monday) and it was a complete one. So now I have to urge myself to get out. It’s cold and I am not feeling chipper. Let me report back once its done….
Turns out, after two weeks of building up to 7:30 h and a low calorie day yesterday, I am just tired. So whilst the number has now nudged up on Strava, I did not feel great either during the run or after. So on a scale from A to D (describing the feeling on the run and how it went from A – I could do this all day long, feeling great to D – get me onto the sofa now), this is C and this means taking it easy tomorrow and not doing anything else today. Incidentally, my HRV has been up which is one of the factors to track if you have a suitable device.
Clearly HRV, resting HR, the feel of the run each day, levels of training readiness and calorie consumptions are all factors that should be to be monitored to ensure that C turns back into a B or A very soon. Several days in a row that feel C or D are a strong indication that something needs to be tweaked. Taking an additional rest day – rather than sticking to a plan just because it is there – might be better in the scheme of things. Listening to the body and its feedback is an art to be learned and honed over time And is something every successful elite level runner will have down to a T. We can all aspire to it.
