Legendary running coach Jack Daniels recommends 2 weeks as the minimum amount of time for a planned break from running. You lose almost no fitness in 2 weeks. But, like you, I need running to stay sane during the pandemic. So after taking 3 days off at the start of 2021, I needed to start running again. Instead of feeling refreshed, my body felt much worse than it did before the break. My solution: shorter and slower than usual daily runs until I feel like ramping it up, 6 strides on all easy days, some low-volume speed work, and one long-ish run per week.
Literally just finished writing in my journal "I'm over the snow." I cannot tell you how reassuring it is to hear someone else talk about the doom and gloom thinking that comes with deciding to take a couple days off. I also use running as my rock for the day and connection to the outside world, and I know that on days I don't run I have to take extra care not to let my mood run foul. Something I always tell myself I should get better at (shouldn't I be fine taking a few weeks off?) but it never seems to happen.
Anyway, I feel your pain. Although my frustration with running in the snow was a little less hardcore (NYC sidewalks and park paths). Still less than ideal!
It was so much easier to manage my mood when I had space to be grumpy during the day. Man, the sidewalks can't be a lot of fun these days. At least I have some trees to admire.
After many sprained ankles (of which I blame on Francois distracting me when we are running together), you have finally convinced me to get a wobble board! My ankles will thank you for it. And I’m really craving nachos now...
Since I don't really go on long long runs, is there anything lost from tapering down? Say 14 miles becomes 10, so you still get a run in, but its intensity is lessened. Is there a level (distances, time, frequency) that you need to maintain instead of always building,
In general that's a really good strat. I typically power down to about 50-60 percent my activity level every four weeks or so. I think right now I need to either accept what I have or back off completely and recharge.
After a really great fall of running I donated a kidney in mid-December and then spent about 6-7 weeks doing no more than walking slowly around a lake near my house. I'm not naturally a good runner—am not fast and my body tends to forget how to run much more easily than it forgets how to squat or deadlift—and I was fairly stressed about starting from scratch after I healed. I'll say that most of those 6-7 weeks were spent wishing I was running, making progress on the fall training block. But near the end of that period, when I could feel myself approaching normal, I spent the last 2-3 weeks of inactivity really enjoying not having anything scheduled, not having to worry about whether winter was going to kill another run, not having to worry about refueling and stretching and rolling. I've taken breaks from exercise before and like you I usually don't enjoy them much. But I 'm hoping the next time I take an extended break I can re-channel some of the joy I got from being still and healing and focusing on other stuff.
Wobble board looks like a great idea! I do calf raises x three (inside pronation, outside pronation and straight on) and its a bore. Double down on the nachos - love with jalapeno pickled peppers! As far as stopping exercise. At age 69 - Conditioning and weight training is gone like the wind. Two weeks down is six week in recovery. DON'T STOP. The alternative is so much worse.
Calf raises drive me nuts but I look forward to the board. Have fun with it. GO SLOW. Even if I cut back on the running on a little, I'm definitely not going to stop exercising. Good reminder.
Paul, not that I think you need any help w/ having liberal-arts-dad-energy, what about taking up "photography (i put that word in *giant* quotation marks )?"
as someone that, too, needs to interact with nature every day for mental health, on the days when my body isn't quite up to it, going for a walk with a phone in hand, popping the asian squat at times, trying to snap some pics that can do justice to what i see with my eyes whenever i'm outside, not only gets me out of the house but also gives me some purpose.
That's interesting. As a reporter, I was always adamant that I don't take photos when I was on assignment because that's someone else's job. I saw where it was going with smart phones and how they were going to use it as an excuse to get out of paying pros. To that end, I never thought of myself as capable of being a photographer. The little I know about is fascinating.
this pic did happen while i was running, but as you know, some of the things i end up seeing mid-run are just magical and stop me in the middle of my track: https://www.instagram.com/p/CK6up2VJvqX/. i'm sure you have a ton of these instances as well, and you can likely replicate them by just going on a walk, while not taking away anyone's jobs!
Paul, I"m going to re-quote something you said a few posts back that stuck with me. "No matter how you’re feeling -- be it pleasure or pain -- it’s all going to change, so don’t get attached to either emotion."
I hope that on a day where things seems insurmountable, or just plain shitty, you take your own words to heart. It won't last for ever. The tired, achy, fed-up, frustrated feeling will pass and you'll end up where you need to be. Take a break and give your body a rest, but remember that if you wake up tomorrow feeling anew and ready to take on the cold and ice, don't won't be surprised.
The most important part is that you take care of yourself and give yourself time free of self-judgement. We've all been there and understand.
We received over a foot of snow earlier this week and it has completely halted my running. I could go out and string together enough clear sidewalks and road shoulders to get a decent run in, but I just can't get out there - my motivation is totally sapped. It is the doldrums of winter so I am taking a break. If I lose some of my edge the and overall gains I've made, so be it. I'll try again after the horrible white blanket we are currently contending with subsides a little.
In the meantime, after finishing Born to Run, I invested in orders of blue pinole and chia seeds that I will use as an additive with my morning protein shake. I put them in raw, shook the blender bottle well, and then let it sit in the fridge for a bit. It makes the shake more gritty, but the flavor was otherwise unchanged. Today was the first day, so I can't speak to much in the way of noticeable physical effects, but it felt good to experiment with something healthy that didn't smell awful or taste unpleasant. I'll take the wins wherever I can find them during these here doldrums.
Legendary running coach Jack Daniels recommends 2 weeks as the minimum amount of time for a planned break from running. You lose almost no fitness in 2 weeks. But, like you, I need running to stay sane during the pandemic. So after taking 3 days off at the start of 2021, I needed to start running again. Instead of feeling refreshed, my body felt much worse than it did before the break. My solution: shorter and slower than usual daily runs until I feel like ramping it up, 6 strides on all easy days, some low-volume speed work, and one long-ish run per week.
After two days I'm ready to climb the walls. Excellent stuff, thank you.
Literally just finished writing in my journal "I'm over the snow." I cannot tell you how reassuring it is to hear someone else talk about the doom and gloom thinking that comes with deciding to take a couple days off. I also use running as my rock for the day and connection to the outside world, and I know that on days I don't run I have to take extra care not to let my mood run foul. Something I always tell myself I should get better at (shouldn't I be fine taking a few weeks off?) but it never seems to happen.
Anyway, I feel your pain. Although my frustration with running in the snow was a little less hardcore (NYC sidewalks and park paths). Still less than ideal!
It was so much easier to manage my mood when I had space to be grumpy during the day. Man, the sidewalks can't be a lot of fun these days. At least I have some trees to admire.
After many sprained ankles (of which I blame on Francois distracting me when we are running together), you have finally convinced me to get a wobble board! My ankles will thank you for it. And I’m really craving nachos now...
I will blame him too, haha. Welcome to the board, finally! It's a treat. Wish we could hang out again.
Since I don't really go on long long runs, is there anything lost from tapering down? Say 14 miles becomes 10, so you still get a run in, but its intensity is lessened. Is there a level (distances, time, frequency) that you need to maintain instead of always building,
In general that's a really good strat. I typically power down to about 50-60 percent my activity level every four weeks or so. I think right now I need to either accept what I have or back off completely and recharge.
After a really great fall of running I donated a kidney in mid-December and then spent about 6-7 weeks doing no more than walking slowly around a lake near my house. I'm not naturally a good runner—am not fast and my body tends to forget how to run much more easily than it forgets how to squat or deadlift—and I was fairly stressed about starting from scratch after I healed. I'll say that most of those 6-7 weeks were spent wishing I was running, making progress on the fall training block. But near the end of that period, when I could feel myself approaching normal, I spent the last 2-3 weeks of inactivity really enjoying not having anything scheduled, not having to worry about whether winter was going to kill another run, not having to worry about refueling and stretching and rolling. I've taken breaks from exercise before and like you I usually don't enjoy them much. But I 'm hoping the next time I take an extended break I can re-channel some of the joy I got from being still and healing and focusing on other stuff.
That's great stuff, Dave. Thank you. I'll take all of that to heart.
Wobble board looks like a great idea! I do calf raises x three (inside pronation, outside pronation and straight on) and its a bore. Double down on the nachos - love with jalapeno pickled peppers! As far as stopping exercise. At age 69 - Conditioning and weight training is gone like the wind. Two weeks down is six week in recovery. DON'T STOP. The alternative is so much worse.
Calf raises drive me nuts but I look forward to the board. Have fun with it. GO SLOW. Even if I cut back on the running on a little, I'm definitely not going to stop exercising. Good reminder.
Paul, not that I think you need any help w/ having liberal-arts-dad-energy, what about taking up "photography (i put that word in *giant* quotation marks )?"
as someone that, too, needs to interact with nature every day for mental health, on the days when my body isn't quite up to it, going for a walk with a phone in hand, popping the asian squat at times, trying to snap some pics that can do justice to what i see with my eyes whenever i'm outside, not only gets me out of the house but also gives me some purpose.
That's interesting. As a reporter, I was always adamant that I don't take photos when I was on assignment because that's someone else's job. I saw where it was going with smart phones and how they were going to use it as an excuse to get out of paying pros. To that end, I never thought of myself as capable of being a photographer. The little I know about is fascinating.
this pic did happen while i was running, but as you know, some of the things i end up seeing mid-run are just magical and stop me in the middle of my track: https://www.instagram.com/p/CK6up2VJvqX/. i'm sure you have a ton of these instances as well, and you can likely replicate them by just going on a walk, while not taking away anyone's jobs!
Paul, I"m going to re-quote something you said a few posts back that stuck with me. "No matter how you’re feeling -- be it pleasure or pain -- it’s all going to change, so don’t get attached to either emotion."
I hope that on a day where things seems insurmountable, or just plain shitty, you take your own words to heart. It won't last for ever. The tired, achy, fed-up, frustrated feeling will pass and you'll end up where you need to be. Take a break and give your body a rest, but remember that if you wake up tomorrow feeling anew and ready to take on the cold and ice, don't won't be surprised.
The most important part is that you take care of yourself and give yourself time free of self-judgement. We've all been there and understand.
Thanks Tracey. It's the endless roller coaster that I'm sick of at the moment. But it too shall pass.
It will, just be kind to yourself. Its hard as hell right now, but important. We (all of us running probablists) all got your back, that's for sure!
We received over a foot of snow earlier this week and it has completely halted my running. I could go out and string together enough clear sidewalks and road shoulders to get a decent run in, but I just can't get out there - my motivation is totally sapped. It is the doldrums of winter so I am taking a break. If I lose some of my edge the and overall gains I've made, so be it. I'll try again after the horrible white blanket we are currently contending with subsides a little.
In the meantime, after finishing Born to Run, I invested in orders of blue pinole and chia seeds that I will use as an additive with my morning protein shake. I put them in raw, shook the blender bottle well, and then let it sit in the fridge for a bit. It makes the shake more gritty, but the flavor was otherwise unchanged. Today was the first day, so I can't speak to much in the way of noticeable physical effects, but it felt good to experiment with something healthy that didn't smell awful or taste unpleasant. I'll take the wins wherever I can find them during these here doldrums.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Love it Joe. Once you get the urge it won't go away. You've done the hardest part. It's ok to reset and recharge for the long haul.