Zero Week

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October 12, 2012 by Amy B

Hal Higdon tells marathoners to put in a “zero week,” where running is secondary to recovery. My infection kept me from doing much of anything for a few days, and then I started to get antsy. And crabby. And I realized I really needed to get out and run, even if it was only for a few miles, just to work out the bugs.

I made a deal with Scott that if he came home at a reasonable hour to watch the kids so I could run, that he could go to late night hockey rental. (OK, so he really doesn’t need my permission, but dangling the hockey thing out there may have helped.)

I considered going for three but decided two would be enough, especially since my mastitis is still kind of painful and technically I should probably be doing nothing as my body recovers. I figured I’d give it a shot and take a chance instead of sitting around.

The first mile was slow and into the wind. My stomach also hurt from some pasta salad I had eaten a few hours previous, not to mention that my boob was kind of painful. Stupid boob.

I set the virtual runner guy up for a 10:10 pace and realized near the end of the first mile that I was 28 seconds behind. I decided to see if I could catch him by the end of the run. Yeah, I know it was supposed to be a gentle pace. I’ll admit I was pushing it toward the end, but the rest of the time wasn’t too bad. I don’t think my heart rate rose above 150bpm.

In the end, I did catch the little guy and beat him.

Hal says to walk today, even though I’d love to run. I’ve got a long day full of not a lot of work, so I may take a break and have a stroll mid-afternoon. I don’t think it will be 2-3 miles, but it will be something.

As the weather turns, I start to wish I lived in a place with a longer running season. Can we run all year up here? Sure. Is it fun? No.

Did I mention I don’t really like cross country skiing?