September 7, 8

Wednesday - September 07, 2005

What: 75 minutes of pure hell

Where: Spiez…somewhere…somewhere hilly… I was on my own today for an easy jog and I wasn't sure where the heck I was…I just kind of ran around, got lost, and then ended up back where I was supposed to be. Nice how it happened actually, made the 75 minuntes fly by!

Comments: I am feeling these miles/kilometers baby! I guess this is what it takes to raise my level!

Quotes: "It's okay, bring on the elbow, I am used to it." - Me to Anita, my new deep massage therapist. Fritz hooked me up because she worked on one of our runner's a couple years ago. I told her to bring on the elbow to dig into my right hip that is always tight.


Thursday - September 08, 2005

What: 50 minutes am, 30 minutes pm

Where: In the morning I ran around Reichenback towards Frutigen (Bernese Oberland…"Berner Oberland") Then in the afternoon I ran around Thun.

Comments: Felt the soreness from the massage, but the legs felt a heck of a lot better than yesterday.

Quotes: Fritz: So, how are you ?
Me: Ummm, okay…why?
Fritz: I told her to go hard on you. Hahahhaha (he told Anita to "dig")


Josi Sounds Off Again

THE MILEAGE ISSUE

So…today's random thoughts. About mileage… The bottom line here is that everyone's bodies function differently, and just because ONE person runs well off of high mileage, does NOT mean another person will. There are certain people who I call "number crunchers." People who, when their running plan says "60," HAVE TO DO 60. Or if someone else's says 60, the have to do 61!!!! This again comes back to listening to your body. For example: It's a Sunday and you are absolutely demolished from the last week's training, yet your training log says "56." Are you going to go out and crunch that extra four miles? In my little running philosophy, I say NO. First of all I think that is too obsessive. Four miles? Come on. But also, if you are THAT tired, why go out and put those extra miles on the legs? What is it going to do for you? Jack nothing. Everyone is entitled to an opinion of course, but I strongly feel that taking that day off is going to do a heck of a lot more for you (a general "you") than putting 4 more miles on the legs. I say, go to the training room, get some work done, sit in an ice bath, then go home and relax. And again, I don't mean that you should not go because you mentally don't feel like it, but if physically you really feel horrible…. REST! Sometimes the most important part of training is the resting part of training.

Like I was saying, just because person A runs well off of 60 miles a week on average, doesn't mean person B will. In college there was an awesome, awesome runner (I cannot even remember how many times she was All American), but the girl only ran 35 to 40 miles a week!!!!!!!!! As soon as she went over that number, BAM, she was slammed with an injury. And YET, she was one of NCAAs best cross country and track runners! Yes, DISTANCE!!! Meanwhile, little ol' me…I pretty much suck (excuse the term) unless I have those miles under me. Everybody runs well off of different mileage!!! We get so competitive when it comes to number dropping…you know, the ol' "so, how many miles did you log this week." I say, who cares??? If you show your stuff in the RESULTS when it actually COUNTS, then who gives a bleep about what kind of mileage you run??? It isn't about the HUGE AMOUNTS of miles, it is about how well YOU PERSONALLY run off of how many miles YOU run. So for all you number crunchers out there, relax. It always, always, ALWAYS, comes back to the same thing, listen to your body!!! You'd be surprised how many stress fractures could be prevented if people would listen. Yes, it does occur, people who listen, do everything right, and do as they are told still get stress fractures, but there are also just as many, if not more, who get injured because they just keep pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing until they literally break! Again, I am currently knocking on wood as I told this, but this rule has kept me chronic injury free for 9 straight years of running…Started in June of 1996 and am still going strong in September 2005! I practice what I preach, and I preach what I practice. REST is a big part of my "practice."

NEXT: September 9, 10, 11 – A love-hate relationship with hills..

PREVIOUS: September 6 – Weight, six-packs and the importance of looking ahead...

INDEX: Unfinished Business -- Former PA XC state champion Josi Lauber's post-collegiate adventure.