20 Min Recovery

Every now and then my runs will not be posted immediately after completion as it's sometimes a little tough to fit in writing about a run, especially after a difficult one.

On Friday, I did a 20-minute recovery. It was a part of Week 4 of my training plan; however, it wasn't the run I initially planned to do. I try to get 3/5 of the runs done each week. Ideally, it will be 2 recovery runs (1 longer, 1 shorter) and the long run. However, my long run was supposed to be 8K or 4.9miles. I honestly just knew I couldn't do it. This is probably the opposite mentality of what a runner should be thinking but it is what it is.

I don't run in the morning usually. I would love to be a morning runner and I've done a fair amount of morning runs but it's just more likely to cause a migraine for me. Most of my long runs in the past are morning runs, but I am adequately prepared for them and know that if I do get a migraine, I have the entire weekend day to recover. However, during the week when I have plans or need to work or whatever, I try not to run in the morning. The problem with this in the summer is that it is excruciatingly hot out in Texas from like 10am - 7pm. I'm aware that there are solutions, such as running on a treadmill, however I don't run as well on treadmills and overall, just don't want to.

Anyway, this is my long-winded way of explaining that I didn't do my long run last week. I almost didn't run at all on Friday because I knew I was going to have to run in the heat and I had exciting plans at night that I didn't want to miss. However, I realized that just because I "can't" run my long run, doesn't mean I should just not run. So, I did the 20-minute recovery.

I'd love to say that while doing the 20-minute that I realized I had underestimated myself and decided to complete the long-run. However, that was not at all the case. I could barely do the 20-minutes. It was unbearably hot (and I usually hate complaining about the weather). I ran at 2pm which was a horrible decision but by the time I had gone to the gym, ate, and did this online course thing, it was 2 and I knew I needed to get this done before I started getting ready for my dinner.

The run was called "The Passion Run." Not a big fan honestly. I liked the idea of it, but it just didn't resonate with me. The coach was talking all about when she first "fell in love" with running and how "running loves you back unlike other things in life" (??) and how her heart basically beats with joy when she thinks about running (again, ???). I just cannot relate. I love the enthusiasm and the passion, but I am not "in love" with running. She spoke a lot about how much she thinks about running and the joy she gets from it and while I absolutely love being a runner, I'm not obsessed with running. It just went a little too far for me, a little too intense. It got me through the 20-minutes though.

I was really fighting for my life during this run though. I know I mentioned in previous posts about how 15-minutes feels so short to me; however, this 20-minutes was never-ending. I kept a good pace, honestly too fast though. I checked my mile time at mile one and decided to try to slow down because 1) it's a recovery run 2) it's a time-based run and 3) I felt awful. I ended the run semi-close to my house, but those 200 meters felt like a mile. I was absolutely drenched in sweat. I immediately ate 9 mozzarella balls with 9 crackers as I was a little nervous that I hadn't adequately fueled.

Overall, this was not one of those runs that made me feel like I was making progress. I should've gone to the gym and ran on the treadmill instead OR I should've gotten my run in on Thursday as I was supposed to! Poor planning backfired.