Hey I just realized I had my biggest week ever with 7 hours of running, 6:45 on the trail and 20 on the mill. The week included two workouts with Monday's tempo and Thursday's interval session, 3 recovery runs and a 2 hour long run. I also managed two hour sessions of strength and core workouts and the best thing about it is that I felt great emotionally and physically doing it all. I did not have one bad or down day all week. What is up with that?!
Seeing how I feel now as compared to my situation this summer before Emilie's Run I would say that I was on the verge of "burnout" before that race. My body was breaking down with injuries(my hip, my right calf and then my left calf) and emotionally I was exhausted. So what has changed and why am I in a better place now?
Well I think the number one reason I feel better is because I am running slower. From my recoverys and long runs to my tempos and intervals I have slowed it all down. Although slowing things down was not the immediate goal, running my workouts at an appropriate intensity was and I have been able to do that by wearing a heartrate monitor. Running at the proper intensity has allowed me to be able to increase my time on my feet by 2 hours and increase my distance by 10 km for a week.
The number 2 reason I feel better these days is that my strength workouts have been less intense and I feel they compliment my running efforts now as opposed to fighting them.
The number 3 reason I feel better is because I am happy with numbers 1 and 2 so emotionally I am in a much better place.
October 16th I will be running
