Down time

The start of winter is a tough period to get motivated. It'll be easier when the snow's down, the winds tail off, and you have those crisp clean winter days to train in. Winter itself isn't all that bad, and actually quite pleasant for running. The transitional months are painful, but serve a purpose to 'toughen' you up. It's a lot easier running in calm cold winter air after you've trudged through a few weeks of howling winds and horizontal cold rain.

I'd developed a bit of a sore hip, nothing detrimental to training, but present nonetheless. It's on my right side, the side with the golfball sized bunion on my foot and similar (but smaller) aggravations to my middle toes. I'm guessing I adjust my gait ever so slightly when hitting my right side, and the accumulating effects mean the upper part of my leg also takes a hit.

I'm taking it a lot easier these days, only getting 30 or so miles in a week and opting to rest whenever the weather just isn't very accomodating that particular day. In the past if I've survived the fall without injury, I've pushed through into winter and spring and full tilt, and it's left me feeling less than rested come the next racing season. It's seemed that fall injury is a bit of a blessing, forcing me to take time off and recoupe. Without it, I have to force myself to cut back, and it's not easy to do.

Last Sunday I did a 2 hour run with the core 90 minutes at a light tempo pace (something a bit slower than half marathon pace). I'd started this while training for the Fiddler's Run, alternating an easy 20 miler on one Sunday with a hard 14-16 miler the next. The harder mid longs are pretty manageable. The pushed pace on the mid longs make marathon pace seem a lot more comfortable, and the length of the session helps me adjust to continuous effort. The one thing I've found myself doing a lot these days is much slower running than I have in the past, keeping pace near 9 a mile instead of always forcing 8 or better. This is out of necessity, if I want to keep on running.

A little post season down time...if I stay patient enough.

- The Fiddler's Run ended up cancelled due to the storm system pushing through on race morning. A bad call since the day turned out quite beautiful and I substituted a 23 mile long run...much of it shirtless... for a finishers medal. They auto-insert my name for next year, but I'll really need to think it over first. I doubt they'd be silly enough to cancel it two years in a row. Would they?