Training Change

So...I think I'm going to need to rethink my training regimen leading up to the race.  I'm dealing with a lot of lingering aches and pains in my calves, hamstrings, glutes; it is definitely affecting my runs and I feel like I'm walking a tightrope between achy and injured.  I've focused more on stretching and recovery techniques to mitigate the aches, to no avail.  

I've been reading about how long someone should recover after running a half-marathon.  Apparently the body is pretty beat up and just needs time to rest for a while; the consensus is to do nothing for a solid week.  That doesn't work if you're one of those hardcore runners that race back-to-back.  Good for you, I'll get there someday.

Overtraining has been a concern from the start.  Intending to go from 0 running to being able to do 13.1 in three months was asking a lot out of my body, especially a body that's thirty pounds overweight and not used to this type of rigor.  In the last several weeks, I feel like my body is filling me in on what I didn't want to hear - I can't handle it and I need to change it up.

So what's a guy to do?  The responsible thing would be to slow things down, reassess my goals, potentially look at a race in the fall to run my first half-marathon.  Screw that.  I admit to being a little reckless, and I want to meet this goal, so I'm going to keep pushing, but make a few little modifications along the way.

First things first, I'm going to reduce my runs from 5 a week to 2.  I'll keep my long run on Saturday and throw in an easy 3-4 mile on Tuesday.  No more interval training or tempo training.  I'm more concerned about finishing this half marathon, not about getting a good time.  My easy pace on my long runs is the pace I intend to run during the half-marathon; I'm not looking to kick into another gear and push faster anyway.  

Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays will alternate between cross-training and core training.  I read that a strong core is helpful for runners.  Long term, it would be wise to try and build it up than to neglect it and think my legs are going to bear the burden.  It's already obvious that they can't, so I need to do my part and give them some help.   

Fridays and Sundays will be rest days, with stretching routines being the only thing I do.  

I'm a wee bit concerned about the lack of running, but my justification is coming off my last distance run.  The week before, I had to stop training because of a calf injury.  Even though I hadn't done a lot of running leading up to my 6.5 mile run, I felt really fresh doing it and felt like I could go longer.  I still have 7.5 8.5, 7.5, then 10 mile distance runs before the race.  If I'm feeling strong in two weeks after the 8.5 mile run, I'll stick with the training.  If I don't make it 8.5, I'll probably seek a different race to run, as much as I hate to admit it.

Time to stretch my poor legs, cross my fingers, and hope I find success over the next couple of weeks!