Vermont City Marathon Training Week 2: What Was Planned vs. What Happened
Monday 01/18/16: 30 Min Run Easy | 32 Min Easy
I ran outside, on the bikepath, in the snow, because DAY OFF. It was so nice to get to run out in the sunshine for once.
Tuesday 01/19/16: 45 Min Run Easy | 36 Min Easy
I took this run to the treadmill, because the temps were below freezing and there was a fresh coat of slippery wet snow on the ground. Unfortunately, my stomach was not at all thrilled with the idea of running at 8 pm, and I had to call it quits after 36 minutes.
Wednesday 01/20/16: Spin Class | Spin Class
The theme was Wayback Wednesday, and it was all 80’s music, and it was glorious! I ate a piece of bread and butter before class when I usually don’t eat beforehand, and I felt extra strong, so I think a small snack before workouts is the way to go.
Thursday 01/21/16: Hills | Rest
I woke up with swollen glands in my throat, and by the end of the day, had a terrible sore throat and low-grade fever, so I took a rest day in the hopes of nipping it in the bud.
Friday 01/22/16: Active Rest | Rest
I called out of work for the first time in about two years and slept until 2 pm. When I woke up for real, I was feeling somewhat better, but lightheaded and groggy because I hadn’t eaten or drank anything all day. I still went to rehearsal, which thankfully was very short and didn’t require any dancing.
Saturday 01/23/16: 6 Miles Easy | 6 Miles Easy
My sinuses were full of gunk, but my throat felt better, so I just decided to go for it. I took it to the treadmill in case I needed to bail out early, but I made it with minimal discomfort. I spent the rest of the day in compression pants on the couch, alternating between watching movies and playing video games.
Sunday 01/24/16: Yoga | 2 Hours Dance
I was still feeling yucky so I bailed on yoga yet again to get more sleep. I knew that rehearsal had a LOT of dancing in store, and I just wanted to save my energy for that. Thankfully we spent some time stretching after warm ups, so I felt like I didn’t completely miss out on mobility stuff for the day.
I’m feeling ok today. My sinuses are still really full and that has made sleeping well difficult, but during the day I feel mostly fine, other than needing to blow my nose every 10 minutes. I plan to at least try to keep up with my workouts this week, especially because today and tomorrow are relatively short, easy runs.
When you’re sick, do you still work out?
Ugh – being sick is crappy! Hope you’re doing better each day and can get back on track!
For me I guess the answer is ‘it depends’ … of course. I probably tend to push it too much, which was reflected by reading the end of my running streak from 3 years ago (yay TimeHop!) where I revealed I’d felt like crap for a few days before I stopped running and ended up taking a sick day and just sleeping … before running the next day (moron!).
I have also been very fortunate that I’ve not really gotten terribly sick in several years, no more than one day out of work each year (actually, that one in 2013 was my last!), and I tend to heal up fast if I let myself sleep!
The most important thing – always – is to be smart about what works for you and to listen to your body.
I tend towards the “Oh, I sneezed, guess I need a rest day” side of things. I’m very good at making excuses to not exercise, haha! That being said, Thursday night’s rest was definitely a carefully weighed choice to try and cut off the sickness at the pass, which unfortunately didn’t work. Hopefully this will be my only illness this training cycle!
Ugh, sinuses. They’re such a pain. If mine are gross enough to the point of a headache (which they usually are, if they’re acting up), I usually don’t run because it will hurt to move, let alone pound pavement/treadmill. Or if I just can’t breathe, that’s usually an excuse to not work out either. But if I’m feeling motivated (who, me?) I may do my PT exercises or other gentle things so as not to feel like the hugest of lumps. 🙂 I hope you’re feeling better!
Doing an alternate or more gentle workout is a great option. I just tend to be a sad sack when I’m sick, and my motivation is low.
My motivation is usually at sad-sack levels too.. the alternate workout idea happens once in a blue moon 😉
Glad that you are feeling better, my dear. Proud of you for pushing through, but in a smart way, as we discussed. Even so, I would have been proud of you for making the decision NOT too run, if you had been too sick! It is far worse to jeopardize a week (or more) of training just for a single day. But it is such a fine line.
I agree, and I hope that I continue to walk that line well. As I said in a previous comment, I tend to err on the side of caution, and usually just call it if I’m feeling unwell.
Great job getting those runs in this week, especially that 6-miler! It’s so hard to know sometimes when to skip a run and when to push through but it sounds like you had a really good balance this week 🙂 For me, it depends how bad I’m feeling but most of the time I will run as long as it doesn’t seem to make anything worse (but I will adjust the run for sure in those situations!) Hope you continue feeling better this week!
Thanks, Charissa! That’s exactly why I treadmilled it instead of heading outside. I didn’t want to be 3 miles away from home and miserable.
Great job this week!! I hope you are feeling better, too! I’ve tabled runs before due to being sick, but it just depends on the sickness. It’s not worth getting SICKER to me, so I usually rest a day or two!
I feel the exact same way. I’d rather take one rest day now than several later!
Amen!!!!!
Nice job despite getting sick! Hope you feel better soon!
Thank you, I’m getting there!
Hope you feel better soon! I once went running while I was still recovering from a chest infection. That was a terrible idea and probably the worst run I’ve ever done. It’s totally not worth it. Marathon training is long, missing a couple of days to get healthy is no biggie.
Yeah, running in the cold last night wasn’t a good choice. I was fine during but coughed a lot after, so I think tonight will be a treadmill run in my nice, warm gym.
Being sick is no fun- hopefully it clears up soon! I sometimes exercise with a migraine or headache but not when feeling sick. If I call in sick it usually means I can barely move so I usually sleep all day. 🙂 You still had a productive week!
I definitely did ok in spite of illness. I think all the sleep on Friday really helped.
So many people have been struck with the ick lately. I’m sorry you’re sick and I hope you’re feeling better today! I generally still exercise when I’m feeling under the weather, but only if it’s above the neck. 🙂
I’m finally feeling about 90% better today, just have some lingering sinus gunk.
Boo to being sick! I was sick a few weeks ago and not being able to run drove me nuts. I swear that my first run back was like the best medicine ever! I’m hoping you are feeling better soon 🙂
Thank you! I’m mostly better today, definitely improving almost every hour. I’d say I’m at about 95% 🙂