"This above all: to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man."
This piece of advice from Polonius to his son Laertes in Shakespear's Hamlet seemed appropriate to me this last weekend. Several of my triathlon group were doing the Jiggle Bell 5K this last Saturday morning and encouraging me to join in on this festive holiday run. I knew that in recovering from my hamstring injury, it was probably best to skip this event. However, I got the classic peer pressure call to come out and run it easy. My buddy Tony suggested I do a fun run 10 minute mile pace.
I have to say, I was tempted. It's a fun event, with people dressed in reindeer antlers, Santa hats, and other jingle bells on their running shoes. I place a call to buddy John seeking his advice, which I get late Friday night before the event. He suggests that I come out and join the fun, if I think I can do it as a slow fun run.
Who am I kidding? I've never run a 5K race at anything other than near puke speed. Isn't that what 5K events are for: to see if you can go so hard that you feel like you're gonna puke? I've never actually puked after a race, but I've felt like it a couple of times. I find it hard enough to keep the horses in the barn at the start of a marathon. I'm going to go out and jog a 5K? I don't think so. Knowing myself, I knew I wouldn't be able to take it easy in a 5K. So, I took a pass and did an easy 5K treadmill run at home with that 10 minute mile pace dialed in. Not as fun, but the smart thing to do as I'm coming back to running.
The good news is that I've done a couple of these 5K runs, and so far, so good. I've got enough faith in doing my recovery smart, that I've registered for our New Year's Resolution 5K run on December 26th. I think I'll be ready in time for that. Who knows, maybe I'll puke after crossing the finish line? Not that that's my New Year's Resolution. My New Year's Resolution is to run the Jingle Bell Jog and some other fast 5K races in 2011.
Probably a good pass.... Nothing worse than puking on the guy in the reindeer outfit. Hey, now that I think about it, I can probably have a few beers at the hotel bar and go outside and puke on a real reindeer here in Oslo..
ReplyDeleteWhy not, at least you will earn a Pukie out of it
ReplyDeleteCertainly a good call. It seems most athletes have a harder time with recover than they do with the workouts. Yet if you think long term, as in wanting those legs to be functional for the rest of your life, as opposed to racing in something that will around next year just because you're almost recovered, it's an easier decision. Like they say, race smart, train smarter.
ReplyDelete