Know When to Say When

I skipped my first training run this morning, and if you couldn't tell by my need to blog about it, I'm feeling a little guilty.

You see, I've been following my Novice 2 training plan religiously. No wait, that's not even true. I've patently ignored at least one of the rest days on a regular basis. Monday is supposed to be for resting and a little stretching, but I always do strength training and perhaps a little biking. I usually do better w/ Friday rest day (Friday's are for napping after work), except for this past Friday when I did a 17 mile bike ride when I had a long run the next day.

Being more active than prescribed seems like a good thing to me. There was a time in my life when I was a slug. Getting moving on a regular basis was a huge chore that I had to talk myself into every single time. That's changed drastically. Bodies in motion tend to stay in motion, and all that...When I run in the morning, I won't pretend I jump out of bed dying to get out there. But, by the end of the day, even on days I've already run, I tend to get a little antsy and feel like doing something to move the body, even if it's just taking a few laps around my local Target buying beauty products I don't need. Usually it's some ab or arm work. Or going biking when B. does. And then I wonder where the aches and pains have come from.

Extra strength training (especially when legs are involved) or too much hard biking leads to undue soreness. For instance, this past Monday since I was off work, I did a 50 minute strength circuit and then for an hour long bike ride. When Tuesday's short run rolled around, I was sore. When Wednesday's long-ish run came along, I was SUPER sore. My lower calf on my right leg was tender again, my hamstrings were tight, and I had a rubbed spot on my left heel (from cute but horribly uncomfortable shoes I wore to dinner over the holiday weekend).

So, this morning, I made an executive decision. I would skip my 3 mile run this morning and let my legs recover before this Saturday's 12 mile. If I do anything today, it will only be some ab work. Maybe not even that. I might rest entirely for the next 2 days.

While I haven't followed the plan exactly, I've certainly never skipped a run. And, while I feel a little guilty, like somehow missing one workout means I'm a lazy slob, I think taking an extra rest (or a make-up rest day) is the best decision in my situation. I keep reminding myself that missing one short run isn't going to derail my marathon aspirations. It's only one workout. I'll be back out there at sunrise Saturday doing my thing.

Sometimes, you have to know when to say when and live to run another day (injury free).