It is 3:00AM. I need my rest, but can't seem to get it. Why is it when you need it the most, it seems the farthest from your mind? You trick yourself into thinking your determination can alter the base needs of your body.
Rest from running is no different. I was determined that I would stay in Marathon shape so that I could simply jump into another race without as much work, HA! Not so much work, what a joke! Staying in that kind of shape is work, hell it is a full time job! Not to mention that your family has to be on board for support and their own amount of sacrifice. But beyond that, there is the body's need for rest. But what does the right amount of rest look like for your body?
Every body is different, but as I obsessively read "Runner's World" magazines and find that the recuperation of a full Marathon may take weeks or months, I tried time and again to rush it. Some how I didn't think I should need the amount of rest my body obviously did.
The pay off to taking the time to rest, is the renewed love of running. But you have to actually take that time off. My haphazard running schedule, and obvious denial of needed rest, has included a run with my husband Jesse who is deep in training for a 50 miler which means he is working on speed as much as endurance...and determination. He took me out on what would be a "quick run". In my mind this meant short, in his mind it meant...QUICK. They say, men say exactly what they mean despite women reading into it. This is a great example.
After the red faced, heart pounding want-to-throw-up "quick" run, I stopped running again. I could say it was my work load, or the kiddo being out of school for the summer, but the truth is, I simply needed the rest. I would like to tell you I was cross training, but that wasn't regular enough to really claim either. I was on exercise vacation. I felt guilty about it too.
A recent conversation with my brother-in-law Chris alleviated that guilt. Chris is a natural born runner that has run several Marathons, most with abbreviated training, he is what I call "a true runner". He had previously decided to give up running after a Marathon that he essentially did not train for at all (and managed to score a time at elevation that most people would be VERY proud of) however, he really hurt for the first time afterward. He needed rest. Needless to say, he stopped running for about 6 weeks and found that with a sudden surprise, the call to run was coming back.
Jesse took 13 days off running and missed about 80 hours of training! Ya, no joke. So he is back at it and running circles around me. Literally. We went out for another run together and this time I was on guard to run my pace, not his. So with our 52 pound 6 year old son crammed in our BOB stroller (thank you Gods of BOB strollers!) he bolted up steep hills and back down past me, around and back up to meet me for a few minutes, then bolt off for another sprint ahead of me and circle around to find me again. It was a good run for both of us. I felt good when we finished and he got an OK work out. It was exactly 6 months to the day from running my first full Marathon.
In all honesty, this is not what I had wanted to have the evolution of my running look like, but the truth is, we can't determine what path our running (or our lives for that matter) will take, as much as we try to. I am finally wanting to run again and that feels great. I watched the women's Olympic Marathon race and was inspired to run another Marathon. I am actually looking forward to the training! Of course first thing is first, our family has to see Jesse through his race. Who knows how much rest he might need after that, or how much wine...I am guessing a lot of wine.
-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
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