Over training

Last night after track practice, I was depressed. Not because I ran slower than I wanted. But because I couldn't run. I am still hurting from Monday’s cross training. I’m in a funk. And I just figured out why. I’ve been hit with over training. My miles have been lower than in previous weeks, so why over training? Off to the great and expansive knowledge that is the web. Here is what I found:

Signs of over training:
1. Moody (I read as being a witch) OK, this is very common around my house once a month. You know what I mean. What, you can’t believe I’m blogging about mensuration? Oh, stick around honey, stick around.
2. Can’t sleep (Sleep what’s that?) This is more than my kids are waking me up kind of sleep. This is I wake up at 1-2am and can’t get back to sleep until 4 or 5am. This is very unlike me as I have been known to fall asleep in 2 seconds flat. No exaggerating here. Really, 2 seconds after saying something to my husband in a conversation I can be asleep. Impressive, huh?
3. Don’t feel energized.(read a lazy bastard) I am known for going all day 7 days a week at full speed. I don’t sit down and do nothing. Ever.
4. Stale training (yep)
5. Poor race performance see my last race post. 7:38 pace. Again I say what the hell? Now it makes sense. Even though I tapered for the race, it was not enough to recoup from the previous months of hard training.

This week I’ve been moody, irritable, ah hell just a plain witch!! I thought it was because I couldn’t run. Now I find out it’s because of running. That’s just wrong.

So information on how to correct it is scant. But here is what I have been able to find with my Scooby senses.

1. Take some time off from running. Sounds like common sense. But how much time is enough time?
2. Rest. Uh? That sounds like #1

That’s it. I can’t find much else. So how much time off? One day? Two? A week? A month? OK, I’m going to kabosh taking a month off, because I have worked too hard to take a whole month off.

Today is day 3 of no running. Yes, technically I ran a little last night. But I was jogging not running. And I was pushing the triple stroller so that makes it impossible to get a really good run. I ended up having my husband pace lead my group of guys. That‘s an improvement for me… to ask for help. Baby steps, baby steps.

I feel better today. Maybe just being able to identify what was wrong with me helped? Sure last night I woke up at 2:30 am thinking about my Saturday run and how I should run the 13 miles with my guys, but then I wouldn’t be done until 10:30-10:45. That’s over 2 hours of running but only a net gain of 13 miles. And I want to run with one of my friends at 7am to get some miles in with her at a little faster pace and just to chat with her. But then I’d have to bail out on my 13 mile run as a pace leader. But I also have a martial arts seminar this weekend that starts at 10am on Saturday and goes until 5pm. Then I’m cooking dinner for all the guys from the seminar... usually 20+ people. So I have to stop training a little sooner to get dinner started. Sunday I have training again from 10 am to 3pm and then a 7 mile run in the evening. Don’t even get me started on tomorrow.

So I go back to no running today and I might end up skipping my cross training of sit-ups, Pilates, push-ups, and bike ride. Maybe I won’t get my 10 mile run in tomorrow. Who knows. I guess the remedy is to take it day by day. Slowly. Let me try that again. S-L-O-W-L-Y. I’ve heard of that word. Slowing down, taking it easy (oh great, now I have that song stuck in my head). Maybe it’s time for me to give it a whirl?