Day 69: Dragging

From Me and the Road

Date: 3/10/10

Consecutive Days Run: 69

Runner: Brandon Wood

Shoes: Newton Gravitas

Location: New York, NY

Type of Run: Quickie

Time of Day: 6:23 PM EST

Distance Run: 1.35 miles

Time Run: 00:11:13

Average Pace: 08:20 per mile

Weather Conditions: Pleasant (50 degrees Fahrenheit)

Disposition: Tired

Link to Run Detail: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/26686269

About the Run: Most if not all athletes will tell you that the single most important part of recovery is rest. I am included in this belief and have discovered a couple of things about how my body recovers.

IN the past, when I have not been training so hard or so focused, I found that I could deprive myself of sleep a little bit and not be terribly affected. However, when I found myself unable to sleep the other night and eventually falling into a restless nap sitting on my couch, I was unaware just how much I needed real sleep. It’s not that I need (or can get) an extremely long sleep, but rather I just need to be consistent. In other words, that one night of little sleep followed by two nights of eight solid hours still leaves me in the hole and recovering from my one night of restlessness.

I know that consistent sleep will become an increasingly difficult task with our little one on the way, but I feel like I am a very slight bit ahead of the game having realized this fact of my body before she gets here.

My run tonight was simply one that I got done. There was nothing special or fast about it. Having swum earlier in the day and with time on the trainer in the evening yet to come, I just wanted to get it over and done with. So, as soon as I got home, I was out the door again to run. It felt decent, but my body was just fighting fatigue so much that I couldn’t truly enjoy it.I was so tired, in fact, that I went to bed without writing this post (which is why it’s being posted the day after that run).

Today is a nice, easy, recovery run. I am actually looking forward to it, and to getting back into my sleep rhythm.