Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge Training Week 6: A Signal From the Body

This week was a solid week of training, and I feel real good about the runs I had this week.  The 7 miler I did on Wed, was all on a treadmill and I crushed it, I think I was right around 9 minute miles and for me that was rocking.  My 14 miler was well, in a word…different.  I did the 14 (maybe more) felt okay, except about the last 4 miles.  It reminded about running, and two things I have learned over the years.  The first that comes to mind, and I understand it but I am still not quite sure what it means is this:

Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.

This was just one of those runs, some days you have a great run with a little effort, and other days you are dreading a 3 mile run, 10 minutes into it.  It just happens, sometimes it is nutrition rest, muscles, whatever sometimes you just do not have the proper running gogo juice.  It just happens.  Learn from it evaluate, look at what changed and move on.  It is okay to go slower than you expected.  This brings up my second point::

Listen to Your Body Signals!

No one knows you like you, especially when it comes to running so learn to listen to your body and what it is telling you.   Sometimes it will be positive, you can faster, you can run farther, you can go harder.  Other times it will tell you to slow down, drink, eat…etc.  The point is learn to listen, and do not ignore it or dwell on it.  Listen, learn and adapt.  Sometimes, we get stuck with the mentality to keep pushing through, and at times that is the right way to look at it.  However, during training if you ignore a signal your body is giving you to push harder, you could hurt yourself in the long run.  Would you rather miss the race, or miss 1 mile of a 14 mile training run, is kinda the question I ask myself.  I also look at my heart rate monitor, and overall take a look to how I feel.

The 14 miles I did on Saturday was an example, overall I felt great, but towards the end, my legs were strong, but I felt weak, and I decided to slow down.  I still had 4 miles to go, and wanted to make sure I got it in.  As it turns out, I walked a bit more than I would have liked, but I made it and I was safe.  In retrospect, it was a hot day mid 80’s, and I did not hydrate enough before the run, and unfortunately with about 3 miles left, I ran out of the water I brought with me, so better be safe than sorry.  I am glad I did.  I felt great later that day and finished a strong week. So just be smart and listen.

Any Songs this week from anybody?

This week I head on the road, and will be interesting getting my week day runs in.  Here is what I have in store for this week:

UHOH time is running out, registration is nearing the full mark:

• Marathon registration at 73%!
• Half Marathon registration at 81%!
• Goofy Challenge at 78%!