Recharging
Hi Gang!
No race results from this past weekend, but good luck to all those competing at TTF this weekend! Go get it!
Many people are ramping it up and starting to work hard now in preparation for fall goals. I’m loving the energy. What I’ve been thinking about recently along these lines is the concept of recharging. This is different from recovering. There is a fairly straightforward formula for recovery: food and sleep. The better quality and quantity you get of both of those things, the better your body will be able to bounce back for the next session. But I think of recharging as being a bit different. It’s more about internal energy. How do you get yourself up for your next session. I had to consider this seriously recently as I’m training for a marathon and trying to condense things this week so that I can escape on vacation for a week without having to worry about long runs while I’m away. That meant two longer and harder sessions (for me at this point) a little uncomfortably close together. Normally when I have a bigger session coming up I can pump myself up and get myself motivated and excited for it. But how to recharge those batteries in two days? I realized that apart from eating and sleeping well, I had to be conscientious about where I was spending energy. I opted out of a few volunteer obligations, kept myself in a calm vs busy headspace, and didn’t do anything that was physically or mentally too taxing. This worked well enough and my energy and motivation felt recharged just in time. I know we can’t always opt out of things and make our lives a little easier (we are afterall, mostly the people who get shit done), but when you’re feeling extra taxed with training, see if you can lighten the load a bit elsewhere. Again, this is not about the classic “recovery”. It’s about being kind to yourself and making yourself feel like you have energy to give. Maybe this involves a glass of wine on the weekday. Maybe it’s staying in your pj’s when working from home. Maybe it’s ordering in for dinner an extra night. Maybe it’s saying “sorry – I can’t this week” to a request you normally say yes to. Or taking a mid-day break to walk for ice cream. Or asking a neighbour to pick up the kids. It’s basically the feeling of letting yourself off the hook in some areas. That is OK. Your life won’t fall apart because you’re giving yourself space to take on a little less in some spaces as you take on more in training. Don’t worry – the pendulum will swing back. It always does. But if you don’t carve out your recharging space, it will disappear. So figure out how you recharge and do some of that. Coach’s orders 😉
On to tomorrow’s workout – back to Pottery Rd Hills!
We’ll do sets of 2 long, 1 short. For ppl not at Pottery that’s 2 x 400m hill, 1 x 200m hill. The shorter one can be done with a bit more power. I think most ppl can do 2-3 sets. Just get going when you get there. I’ll aim to be there around 6:10/6:15.
For people racing this weekend, no hills for you. Instead, two sets of 4 x 400m w 1:15 rest. You can ease in with the first set being at 10K pace (race pace for TTF people). If feeling good you can do down to 5K pace or a little faster in the second set. 3 min between sets.
That is all – see you in the am!
xo
Seanna