Listening to my body

I "did the right thing" today, and cut my run short, although I'm not really sure why.

This week has been tough. It started with a Boxing Day run of 14 miles having imbibed a few too many champagnes the previous day (actually Jacob's Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir - lovely stuff). I was knackered. My rest day was a 200mile drive up to Shropshire. Tuesday was a hilly 9 miles work session, pushing the pace along. Wednesday was the drive back followed immediately by a 7 mile recovery run. Recovery? Hmm!

So by Thursday I was feeling rather tired. I should have canned my Thursday work session, but I had a go at a tempo run. I had a real problem getting my heart rate up. By the end of 4 miles of effort I had finally got my heart rate up to 145bpm, 83% of max. My pace was quite respectable, but I was drained. That session was significant though, because it took my mileage in the previous 7 days to 50 miles! A milestone, but perhaps more a millstone, as I've always said I'm not going to chase mileage for the sake of it.

Friday should have been easy, but it was our club New Year's Eve social run. We all met at a pub and ran a lovely off road session around the local country park. I kept my heart rate down most of the time - good. It was soft under foot - good. It was however very uneven and hilly - bad, in terms of recovery. After a nice cosy meal in the pub I went home and snoozed for over an hour. Have I already used the word knackered?

I thought the Xmas hols would be a chance to recover, but I've found myself more tired than ever. It's amazing how a few small changes to your routine can really upset the apple cart when you are pushing the mileage up.

After a good night's sleep, I felt better today. I set out and felt generally settled. My pace seemed OK, although it was difficult to judge as it was quite windy. So why did I can the run only half way round? There was something not quite right with my legs. They weren't hurting, and weren't particularly tight. There was just something which said to me that I should take it real easy today. They say "listen to your body", but I think I was receiving psychically, as it wasn't saying much you could hear.

My weekly mileage will now not be 50 miles. It may be a lot less as I may move the long run to Monday to give me an extra day of recovery (in the gym probably). It's almost like I had to prove to myself I wasn't chasing mileage for the sake of it.

I'm not sure why I cut the run short, but I know I did the right thing.