Tuesday, September 11, 2007

When to Say When

I have a problem. I don't always know when to stop. Or, rather, I know when I should stop - or at least pull back - but I don't do it.

Case in point: This morning.

I'm not officially in marathon training until September 23 - I have a ten week plan from Triathlete Magazine that I'll be following as closely as I can. With the plan in mind, however, I'm trying to build my mileage and intensity so that I'll ease into the plan a little. It will still be a jump, there's just no avoiding it, but I'm trying to make the jump as low as possible. ANYWAY - this morning I had a one hour run on the books that would mimic my "plan" Tuesday run with 6 - 8 4 minute intervals at threshold with a 2 minute rest period. I chose to do 6 intervals because I imagined I was being conservative.

The first four intervals felt awesome - I was cruising at threshold (as much as one can "cruise" at that pace), feeling like superwoman, recovering quickly during my two minute jog. The fifth interval started fine but by the end, I could feel the wheels coming off. My legs started to hurt in odd places, I just knew I was just about done. But I had one interval left. I knew I had one interval left in me, but not much more than that. My brain said "Now would be a great time to stop with the intervals and cool down. Remember what The Training Bible said? Stop when you think you only have one interval left in you. Stop with something still in the tank." Brain made very good sense. However Beast said "NO! The plan said I can do one more. I'm doing one more!!!" Beast has her good points, but wisdom and restraint aren't necessarily among them. Beast cannot be reasoned with. And Brain was too tired to argue. So Beast got her way and I did 6. When I got home, I re-read the plan and realized that I was supposed to WALK the rest periods, not JOG. All I can say about that now is: "OUCH."

I'm sitting here, two Naproxin ingested, making friends with my ice pack. My piriformis hurts, my IT band is bitching, my right Achilles is tight and I have a weird pain on the side of my foot. Fabulous.

So, marathon training is off to a great start.

On another note, T-shirt ideas:

"Shamelessly flaunting my imperfections"

Front: "Quit Glaring and Run With Me."
Back: " I Dare You."

"My animal wants your animal to come out and play." But, that could be misconstrued. Hmmm.

Any other ideas?

13 comments:

Marathoner in Training said...

Phoenix,
Sorry to hear about your mistake reading the training plan for the day. That can happen, just take care of your sore legs, hit the hot tub, or even go and get a massage.
As for ideas for t-shirts, your first one is nice. The second one could be taken well.... improperly. The third one, I am not touching with a ten foot pole, although tempting. What is the t-shirt for (running or just to wear around)?

Anonymous said...

How about: "IT Bands! Not just a bunch of computer lab geeks anymore!" Front
"If you have to ask, just eat your doughnuts and stop glaring" Back

Vickie said...

Watch the piriformis. You don't want to end up with a big pain in the butt over the training. Tennis ball and ice for the next 3 days or so should help clear everything up. Then ease back into it. Its hard to believe that 2 minutes can make a difference, but you did find that out. I recently found out the IT band, as strong as it is, is very fragile looking, almost ribbon like, so I can see how it can get messed up easily.

afton said...

I have a GREAT song for you-one of my favorites...I dare you-by Shinedown. Listen to the words, you will love it.

afton said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
the Dread Pirate Rackham said...

Oops. Trust me when I say you are not the first person to make that mistake - heh.

But do take care of yourself. Try an ice bath - it works wonders for me and it's VERY EXCITING at first.

21stCenturyMom said...

Uh oh ... here's an idea - stop hurting yourself. ha ha.... Spoken like a true Mom.

As for the shirt - I got nothin' but if I think of something I'll let you know.

Just take it easy for a few days and use the roller and the ice liberally.

Jane said...

I like the 2nd one. The third one -yeah, uh avoid that, unless you're going to a bachelorette party.

No Wetsuit Girl said...

Ouch! Sounds like you need a yoga session to get all that yuck out of your muscles! At least you learned your lesson before it was too late and seriously messed with your REAL marathon training. In the future, before The Beast comes out to play, be sure The Brain has read the workout thoroughly!

Donald said...

Girl, get that beast to settle down for a couple of weeks, before you get yourself injured during your marathon buildup.

Lori said...

I love the 2nd t-shirt idea! I would buy that one.

Take it easy, chica! Don't want to get an injury before the training even officially starts.

Michelle said...

You sound like someone else I know...Take care of yourself.

Kim said...

how about "i'm not lazy" :)