Out of Temptation
I’m starting to feel a bit tired, which is unsurprising.
With my third consecutive running race in as many weekends
on the horizon, it is perhaps time to consider taking the foot of the proverbial accelerator.
Not that my daily movement (Read: Bailey-ism for training) has
been anything outlandish. Just the usual slow commuting runs/fast walks to and
from work and one medium length bike ride on the weekends. Throw in some daily
strength and flexibility exercises in various forms together with maintenance
chores around the house and you have a fairly extensive amount of movement.
But that is not why I feeling tired. Rather, I think that it
is the sheer intensity of these race-efforts over consecutive weekends that
have caused a mild case of fatigue, and rightly so. As they say, leave it on the race course, not in training. That said I have really been stimulated
by the sheer joy and intensity of the competition of late.
Last Saturday’s
cross-country race was held out in Rocklands, which is a stone’s throw away
from the northern shoreline of False Bay. What with the seriously wintry
weather in Cape Town over the past weeks, the race was always going to be a good
“scrap” (Kiwi terminology for fighting), contested in true cross country conditions. The combination of some
steep sand dune climbs with exposed fields and a strong north-westerly wind
ensured some true intensity, the likes of which most certainly cannot be replicated off the race course.
I’ve been saving up for these three consecutive races. Saving up energy, that is. It is always fascinating how, when I’m focused on some sort of athletic event or events, I gradually start exercising more and more without actually realising it. “Unintended compulsiveness” may be a good terminology and is something one needs to keep in check in order to maintain some semblance of balance. Speaking of which; I could not even imagine following the training schedules of some of my fellow runners/cyclists. Many of these folks will race almost every weekend and do at least one and sometimes two hard sessions during the week to boot. Not that I haven’t tried that sort of approach in the past. For me however, this sort of “wannabee-elite” training is totally impractical and counterproductive. Instead, my daily exercise has erred on the slow side, getting even slower of late due to all of these running competitions and declining energy levels. Not that I’m complaining about slowing down. Far from it. The past fortnight’s “snail-pacing” has resulted in my observation of the following:
I’ve been saving up for these three consecutive races. Saving up energy, that is. It is always fascinating how, when I’m focused on some sort of athletic event or events, I gradually start exercising more and more without actually realising it. “Unintended compulsiveness” may be a good terminology and is something one needs to keep in check in order to maintain some semblance of balance. Speaking of which; I could not even imagine following the training schedules of some of my fellow runners/cyclists. Many of these folks will race almost every weekend and do at least one and sometimes two hard sessions during the week to boot. Not that I haven’t tried that sort of approach in the past. For me however, this sort of “wannabee-elite” training is totally impractical and counterproductive. Instead, my daily exercise has erred on the slow side, getting even slower of late due to all of these running competitions and declining energy levels. Not that I’m complaining about slowing down. Far from it. The past fortnight’s “snail-pacing” has resulted in my observation of the following:
- The construction of massive perimeter fence around our work premises and adjacent farm.
- Wonderful bird life in a local wildlife sanctuary.
- A veritable palace being built on an open piece of land bordering Tokai Forest.
- The sale of a massive, yet derelict property owned by the parents of a fellow that I attended high school with. Joint mandate. There must be close to a dozen different estate agent signs outside the house, scene to one of the greatest, most debaucherous house-parties I’ve ever attended.
- A horse rider talking on her cellphone put on speaker-mode. It wasn't the horse talking.
- River-dredging in one of the local greenbelts.
If I were to be following one of the plethora of rigid and quantitative
training schedules out there, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to observe
any of the above, let alone perform to the level that I have in these races. And maybe I would have thought that the horse was indeed talking!
This three-race schedule has been in my mind for a few
months now, hence my “saving up” for it. I wanted to use this period as form of
“shock-conditioning” for a marathon I’m planning on doing in late-September.
This “schedule” could easily be extended to four or even six more races and I’ll
admit that I am very tempted to do this. Resisting the urge to succumb to this
temptation is proving rather challenging, but I know it is the logical thing to
do. That little voice inside my head (Read: intuition)
is working overtime, sending me messages of various sorts. Apart from the
obvious signs of slight lethargy, one of the major warning signs is a strained
feeling in both of my calcaneus.
This is always an indicator that my soleus muscles are starting to tighten, which means I'm beginning to over-extend myself. They are particularly
tight upon waking up in the morning. After several minutes of walking around,
the tightness dissipates but it is always there, a constant reminder that
danger lurks unless some preventative measures are taken.
Preventative measures? The greater message here is that I am starting reach the end
of my energy stores, which were consciously or sub-consciously allocated when I
saw these three consecutive races advertised in the local calendar. It is amazing how the
mind governs the body. After Saturday’s race, my “competition-mode” will be put
in the shed, so to speak. Time to start revitalising the body and mind with
other activities and interests, all the while maintain the same daily movement,
on the slow side of course. And that could possibly be as preventative you could get.
