fighting through waves of fatigue
I wrote this on Saturday. Here is a video of me babbling about what’s written below (you’ll need the latest version of Apple’s Quicktime - a free download - to view it).
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I’ve got less than two weeks of hard training left before I taper. And, man-o-man, am I ever fighting off the fatigue. Pretty much every day for the last two weeks, I’ve been tired. And every day, I run despite the fatigue.
Many people - especially non-marathon runners - would really question the sanity of a person who continues to run every day despite being beyond tired. I’m sure this behaviour is exactly the kind of thing people point to as an example of the crazy, obsessed runner.
And I get that but, believe it or not, there is a method to the madness. In fact, there is some science behind it.
It is precisely when you push past fatigue where you stand to gain the most. By running through fatigue, your body is spurred into action by creating mitochondria. And more mitochondria means more in the tank for every run after that.
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Today (Sunday)
Running through the fatigue is definitely worth the discomfort. Today’s run…
Miles: 11.16
Time: 1:29:20
Pace: 8:00 minutes per mile
Avg Heart Rate: 153 (targeting 145 to 155)
The pace in and of itself is nothing remarkable. What is remarkable is the heart rate for that pace. It was not long ago when 153 beats per minute required me to run very, very slowly. Now, eight minutes per mile is an EASY run. A very easy run.
Two long runs and eight days of hard training before the taper begins. To say I’m looking forward to Regina Marathon is the understatement of the year.
Lastly, I WAS tired and didn’t feel much like smiling so, in that regard, you are right but it was only one small part of it!
Comment by jank
Monday August 20, 2007 @
Mmmmm, mitochondria and more runs in the tank.
Push through, skinny boy.