OK. So here we are again. An apology to those of you who thought I might've quit and decided to head back for the couch. In truth it could easily have turned out that way, so let today's post be a cautionary tale about advance planning.
I've been attending a conference which is closely related to my academic specialism and, let me tell you, they can suck the juice out of your life for a few days. It's not that they're dull or anything (at least not to me), it's just that the whole itinerary is designed to be a big mixture of work and play (with heavy emphasis on the former, I hasten to add), which doesn't leave much time for anything else. I decided on Wednesday that trying to get a run in before the weekend would be too difficult, so it seemed only fair to do it on Saturday. When Saturday morning rolled around, however, could I get my fat ass out of bed? No way! It just would not move. So I spent all day yesterday feeling guilty and resolved to make amends this morning.
I've never had a three-day lay-off on this programme before, so I was a little apprehensive about how I'd perform. I know that it takes a lot less time to lose a level of fitness than it does to attain it, so I was very eager to get going when the alarm went off at 5.30am. Thankfully I had little reason to worry. I made a conscious effort to set off fairly slowly and ease into a steady pace. If anything suffered I think it was my breathing, as it took me a while to get past the huffing and puffing and settle into a comfortable rhythm. My muscles, however, felt very refreshed and didn't seem to have suffered much at all. I ran as far as I did on Monday but, I felt, with less effort.
So, all in all, the lay-off has been beneficial. I got to rest-up some niggles, have managed to change my training days fairly seamlessly into a pattern which will better suit my working week and any increases I may add in the future, without any major downturn in fitness. But I have also taken this lay-off as a warning. Turning over in bed yesterday was far easier than I ever thought it could be, and it was a real act of will to get out today. It's very easy to be lazy - I guess that's why so many people are - and it's very easy to be seduced by the easy life. But, thankfully, I don't want an easy life - I want a life I can be proud of - and I'm ready to work to get it.
Keep Running!
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3 comments:
Congratulations on finishing week 8! I've seen (read) a lot of people dropping out of the program for various reasons but with the right attitude anyone can run a 5K within 9 weeks.
Your remark for the easy life is so true! We need to challenge ourselves!
Looking forward to read your progress on week 9.
Good job getting back on track! It is so easy to stop getting up and going for the run... especially after you've finished the program or you have other tiring activities like you had. Make sure you have a plan for continuing, even if it's just running 5k three times a week or something simple like that.
Have fun with your last week! You're doing great!
Congrats on finishing week 8! I've had a bad week too last week, only ran twice instead of my usual three.
But then our countries are in the same neck of the woods and weather has been horrible the whole week. This week is looking much better :)
One more week to go for you, keep it up!
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