Sometimes, life throws us a curve – job change, financial distress, family illness, injury, etc.
Relax. Don’t worry. Blah, blah, blah. You’re going to feel what you’re going to feel, and that’s OK. Rather, let’s talk about how to navigate life’s messes.
If you aren’t able to “train,” aren’t able to get in your long runs or speed workouts, just run what you can. Some running is better than no running. Training doesn’t have to be perfect. Everyone has bumps along the way, misses some workouts, doesn’t hit training targets. Sometimes, good enough is good enough. https://runuphillracing.wordpress.com/2022/06/09/less-than-perfect/
Start your training early. Build some cushion into your training plan to allow for injury, life, etc. https://runuphillracing.wordpress.com/2018/05/03/start-training-now/
Reassess your training. DON’T try to cram extra training in to catch-up. A missed workout is a missed workout. You can move it to another day/week, but don’t double up to try to get everything in. That will increase the risk of injury. Something has to give.
Reassess your goals. If you have to miss enough training that you can’t meet your goal, shoot for something different that’s may still be challenging, but more reasonable. For example, instead of shooting for a BQ, aim to finish strong. Then, you can use that experience to help you next time. You might also want to pick out another or different target race later on.
Earlier this year, my mom fell and broke her hip. She lives in L.A. My brother and sister also live in L.A. (I’m the one who left). Because of their proximity, they normally handle any big family issues. I was available and they couldn’t put their lives on hold for long, so I went to L.A. to care for her. I was there for a week, then another 25 straight days as she moved from hospital to a rehab facility, came home, and them moved to a senior living facility. My schedule revolved around her needs. My sleep was disturbed as she woke during the night in pain. I ran as I could rather than “trained.”
Remember that it’s just running. Sure, your race goal may be important, but we’re not elites. Running is part of our lives, but it’s not our lives. There will be other races. Life goes on.
Life > Running
Family > Running
To add to my training difficulties, my hamstring tightened up on an easy run there. Maybe that was because I didn’t have my non-running exercise devices had gotten out of the routine. Ugh.
Since returning to Denver, I’ve had to reestablish my routines. I’ve refocused on doing the kind of exercise I should be doing all the time, and that I was doing before this, but am sometimes lazy about. This will help to prevent injuries going forward. I’m reacclimating to altitude; my HR seems to be 5-10 beats higher for comparable effort levels than it was a couple of months ago. I’m taking my time regaining fitness – I’m building from where I am, not where I should’ve been. I’m not rushing to hit targets in upcoming, less important races. Instead, I’m building towards goals later in the year.
I have a long history of running so am building off of a strong base. That should help me regain speed and endurance fairly quickly. It’s not just what you do in the current season, but what you have built up over years that’s important.
“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” as poet Robert Burns wrote (popularized by John Steinbeck), Life happens. Be flexible. Keep an open mind. Make the best of a bad situation.
Train smart. Have fun. Smile frequently.
Adam
Runuphill Racing
When in doubt, run uphill!
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