Listen To Your Body...

   Today was not the day that I'd hoped for. Got to bed a little too late which caused me to get a late start to my morning. I was really sore from the cross-training that I'd knocked out yesterday too. The weather had turned colder and I was looking forward to running around ten miles on the trail near my home to block some of the wind and snow. But as I started to run down the trail entrance I quickly realized that the snow on the path had iced over and was super slick. So I scrapped the trail idea and decided to hit the roads. The roads were slick from giant snowflakes. After about two miles of feeling miserable I turned around and headed home. My ten mile long run was not going to happen. Grumbled as I trotted into my garage after  barely surviving four miles. What the hell? I'm a distance runner for God's sake! I'm better than this!

   But then I remembered something that I'd told a friend at the gym the day earlier. She'd been telling me how she was pissed that she wasn't as fast as she was last summer. Her speed just wasn't there anymore. I told her that being an athlete means training smartly. Some people think that they can maintain a super high level of fitness year round. Well, that's impossible. You can definitely maintain great fitness all year long. Training should ebb and flow. Hopefully if you can get it right then you'll peak in time for your event. 

   Of all the skills that I've learned becoming a distance runner the most important one is being able to listen to your body. It's something I've ignored numerous times and paid a price for. Today I didn't ignore what my body was telling me. I probably could have pushed through the other six miles. But I'd worked hard all week and taking a scheduled mileage reduction is always a good thing. I'd been feeling a little more fatigue than usual lately and scheduled reductions can help get rid of that.

   I want to have another amazing year of running. But while visiting my 95 year old grandmother later in the day I was reminded that growing old doesn't mean giving up. Setting personal records (PR's) is great. But the only race I want to win is life. When I turn 95 I definitely won't be running 7:30 miles anymore. But as long as I can still manage a slow trot, feel the wind through my hair and feel the rush of doing something my body was meant to do. Then I'll be satisfied. Hell, I may even finally qualify for Boston!

   Open your ears my friends and run for your life...