Did everyone have a fantabulous Labor Day? Why can’t every weekend last 3 days? I’d gladly work 4, 10-hour days to make that happen.
My weekend was great 🙂 We headed to the other side of SC to see my in-laws and go to Clemson’s home opener with Michelle and her hubby.
Beautiful orange everywhere!
This week was a step-back week for marathon training. So my long run was pretty short compared to recent standards. “Only” 12 miles. <—Love how marathon training skews your sense of reality.
My plan was to do the long run before the game on Saturday. We had to be out the door to start tailgating by 9 am, the sun doesn’t rise until 7 am and my in-laws live on country roads with no side walks. When my alarm went off at 5, I knew it wasn’t a good idea to run. Running in the dark in the middle of no where is quite negligent.
I postponed my long run until Sunday and went for a swim instead.
The swim was physically refreshing, but my brain was the furthest thing from relaxed. I was panicking about doing my long run the next day.
I have these running “rules”. And one of them is to not do a long, hard workout the day after spending the majority of the day outside, in the heat, standing or doing something physical. For example, I’d never do a long run the day after a football game, laying on the beach, rafting or hiking.
Why not? Because I’m weird. Or because I always thought I’d be too dehydrated or exhausted to complete a good workout.
Instead of stressing about it, I tried to stay out of the sun, drink a ton of water and eat plenty of food- like eating would ever be a problem for me. 😉 And honestly, once we started tailgating I had so much fun that I never worried about my run.
Note: I am not drinking alcohol at this point in my life. But if I was, I would have refrained from drinking to feel better the next day.
So what happened on Sunday?
I did wake up a little dehydrated, but still managed to knock out 12 miles at an 8:16 pace. And it felt great! Wohoo 🙂
This just proves to me that my “rule” was pretty pointless. I wonder how many potential workouts I skipped over the years because of my foolish misconceptions?
During my stellar run, I thought about other self-induced running “rules” that I’ve since broken:
- Fear Gatorade. I used to be afraid of the calories and sugar. Ridiculous. I now drink some sort of –ade all the time and know it helps my performance.
- Walk breaks will hurt you. I was paranoid once I stopped running I’d never be able to start back up again. But walk breaks are necessary. In fact, taking a break helps me run faster once I start up again.
- No running the 2 days before or the 2 days after races. I’ve learned a light run a couple of days before a race is just what my legs need. And often I’m ready for a slow run or walk/run 2 days after.
- Don’t exercise on travel days. Psycho alert. In college, I read somewhere that flying dehydrates you and you shouldn’t exercise on days you fly (can you tell I’m terrified of dehydration? 😉 ). I’m sure this was followed by “if you take a 12 hour flight” or something like that. But I took this to heart. Mind you, 90% of my flights last shorter than 2 hours.
Of course, some running rules are good ones. I don’t run in the dark (as noted above), I always carry water, wear sunscreen and stop if something hurts.
Do you have exercise “rules”? Any as ridiculous as mine? Please share 🙂
Haha I love your “rules”. I used to think that walking breaks would hurt me too so I tried not to take them and didn’t think I was a “real” runner if I walked! Now I do 9:1 ratio for ALL my LSD runs and I’m faster then ever!
I usually have to run near a bathroom and can’t eat too much food the day before.
I still think that walking breaks are “cheating” and I know I need to get over that!
hahah i love how slightly nutty you are. it’s seriously my favorite thing about you.
we need to sign up for that half mary! and then break all the rules.
I have some of the same running “rules.” I am especially afraid to do a long run after a day of activity. I think that’s why I always try to get them done on Saturday morning. Sundays scare me. Haha. I also MUST have water at a moment’s notice, which would explain to use of a Camelbak for every run.
Great great post!!! Love it. Congrats on your speedy run. I’m sitting here at work with ice on my leg hoping for the best : (
I have similar rules- definitely no drinking the day before a long run. Must wake up 1 hour before my run to prepare- need lots of sleep the night before- lots of crazy stuff!
I managed a long-for-me run this morning after drinking entirely too much last night. Maybe I need more rules! 🙂
I worry too much about walking. It’s the same thing you said, that if I walk I’m afraid I might never run again. That has never happened, but it still worries me every time I feel the urge to walk.
I also used to overly worry about dehydration when traveling. I think I’ve finally realized that while it does dehydrate you some, it’s easy to avoid by making sure you have water with you all the time.
I love your blog! It’s awesome to know that I’m not the only one who drives myself a bit crazy for no reason. Glad you had a great run and enjoyed it!
Great rules! Hee hee. I will NOT run if it’s over 85 degrees — call me a baby, but my shared phobia of dehydration and my intense hate for heat keep me from lacing up my shoes until it’s cooler. I’m okay with running in the dark if it means I’ll be more comfortable.
Now that I have it, I will NOT run without my RoadID (www.roadid.com) — it has all of my pertinent info (name, emergency numbers for mom and BF, blood type, organ donor), plus I added a motivational quote — “Chipotle: It’s Waiting.” (Hey, it gets my butt moving, so no harm right? 😉 Hee hee.) I work for a hospital and my job makes me very aware that horrible accidents can happen — for my own safety’s sake, I won’t run without my bracelet that will speak for me if I ever can’t.
It’s not really a rule, but I always carry Vaseline with me on runs. I sweat lots and chafe easily, so I carry it for help if/whenever I start to feel some friction.
Too funny! I have a lot of rules too… I used to be a big believer in not doing anything the day before a race. I am convinced I can only run on oatmeal, I religiously have gatorade the night before a long run, I never wear new socks for a long run (this has been disastrous!), I associate carbs with speed lol. The list goes on and on haha : )
I like this!
My rules for running…
I don’t run 1 to 2 days before a race, I always do better when I have some rest
I take a day off after running 12 to 13 miles
When I do walk in a run it’s only for 30 seconds to shake things off and to drink something
Have to have a bagel before I run
Have to gel packs for every race even though I don’t always use them in my runs at home…
I like your “strange” ways…we all have them!
Happy running!
I definitely have running rules. I think runners in general are a little bit psycho anyway, so it’s easy for us to make up silly rules in our head. Sometimes the rules can ease my anxiety, and some really are there for a reason (like not eating anything new before a race, taking it easy the day before a long run, etc), but some probably end up driving me more crazy in the end. For example, I get anxious if I don’t get exactly the right number of hours of sleep before an important run…and I hate doing lifting and speed days back to back….and I have to wear the same shorts/socks during races (okay, maybe that’s more of a superstition than a rule). Obviously neither of these things are fun to do, but they won’t kill me, or completely ruin my run. Another big rule I used to have but have since changed is to not run the day before a race. I thought it would negatively affect me. But now I find that it actually HELPS me to go for a short, easy run the day before to stretch out my legs.
Nice job being a running rebel this weekend! 😉
haha I am glad you wrote this post. I think all runner’s have their own slightly crazy rules and reasoning’s for the way they exercise.
I used to not drink any sports drinks because I thought they would hurt me not help me. I also had weird things I would eat the night before a long run and would usually do absolutely nothing that night.
During college life I could not go with most of my rules because I never knew what my schedule would be like working, interning, school, and socializing so I learned quickly my rules made no sense a lot of the time.
I’m glad you had fun! Looks beautiful!
I don’t have any strict rules but I have some rules of thumb like not doing weight training two days in a row unless it is two different muscle groups. Running on the road when there is a sidewalk is usually a no-no as well for me. Other than that, I’m pretty rule free!
I do the same thing. My husband teases me for “babying” my legs the day before a long run, but it helps!
Yay another nutty person 🙂 I love people that have issues just like I do!
I have so many more to add to that list, I am lucky if I even get out for a run!
OMG. I’m so loving your blog and love that you have odd rules. I’m such a rule person and my BFF Amy – who just got ME started on running about 6 weeks ago- tells me I am WAY too obsessive about my performance. Oh well!! LOL But – love finding blogs like yours because I’m learning from YOU! Keep it up!! So awesome!!