Posts tagged roll river roll

some people i’ve trained with adapt really well to high mileage phases. and i’m talking high mileage. 120-150 miles a week.  if you are conservative and say that you run about 7 minute miles 150 miles a week is 1050 minutes or 17. 5 hours.  17.5 hours of pure running. forget about cold tubs and core and stretching and napping and fuelling which accompany those hours of running.  

Now, truth be told those guys are crazy and most of us don’t run that much.  ”high mileage” is a relative term right.  For example if you are used to running 20 miles a week and then you step it up to 40 miles for a couple weeks that is high.  Similarly if you run 70 miles and bump it up to 90 that is high.  

I’ve never considered myself a high mileage runner.  In fact, I’ve found that my immune system gets really stressed and strained when I run too much.  As a result I make sure I always take a day off per week and never try to push the numbers for the sake of pushing the numbers.  I’m lucky that I have a very trusting relationship with my coach that allows for that type of input and dialogue which allows me to really read my body and adjust plans accordingly.  

This month though, in prep for an indoor season of high intensity, I have been pushing the miles a bit.  Running pretty close to as much as I have ever run before.  Physically I am handling it better than I expected and that is encouraging but for me handling it physically is only one of the issues.  I’ve found by increasing mileage and load I get increasingly surly, grumpy, pissy and short with people.  I become more anti-social and frank, am more emotionally exhausted.  

None of this in and of itself is really a problem because I have an amazing support system to understands why I am the way I am during these periods of training.  From my coaches and my teammates, to my parents and my little brother, to my various therapists and doctor, to my super supportive girlfriend I want to thank all of my extended support team for dealing with a very senile young man lately!

at the beginning you feel smooth. the man in front of you can’t be going fast enough.  you nip at their heels. you don’t check your shoulder.  you lean into the corners. time is kind and gives you your recovery.  

but then it comes.  slowly at first.  ripples more than waves.  discomfort you can control. but time becomes a little more coy.  offering and withholding the recovery  you were promised.

still, you start. out fast. three quick steps off the line. hold it.  there is nothing but the logo in between the shoulders of the man in front of you. the logo and the burning in your stomach.

then a large wave. huge break. big crash. everything becomes fuzzy.  you forget everything you knew about pace or control. everything you knew about form.  you throw your body around the corners to the line.

got on the track yesterday.  no watch.  just to feel it out. get back in the rhythm.  it felt awesome. more excited than ever to race and burn.  first few steps to Winnipeg have been taken but its a fucking long way. 

this is a familiar time of year. a familiar energy. the familiar whispers of winter. a small flame ignites and spreads slowly to all the crowns of all the Maples. their embers drop and lay on the ground.  we run on fire. a perennial rite of passage. blisters on our feet. our mouths craving salt. our bodies rest. we run on that fire. we run on through that smoke so we may carry our own small flames.