When Life Knocks You Down, How Do You Get Back Up?

It seems like this “sick season” really hit me hard.  After going through the flu in September, an unending cold throughout October, and then three weeks battling strep throat and an ear infection, I was able to acquire food poisoning last night.  This was my first time with food poisoning and if you’ve never had it before, count your blessings! It was the grossest night of my life that caused me to get 0 sleep and sprint to the bathroom not once, twice, but thirteen times in less than 10 hours.  I’ll stop there with the details but it has left me pretty weak and depleted.

I have been pondering why I have taken such a hit in the sickness department this year.  Normally I am able to resist the inevitable cough/cold/flu that everyone seems to get in the fall.  Many people have offered their advice: It’s because you eat meat again so you should go back to being vegetarian; it’s because you’re running too much so maybe you really should cut back the mileage; you go to a gym and those places are crawling in germs; you’re more susceptible to illness when you’re stressed so you need to relax.

While some of those ideas may be somewhat fallacious, they’ve made me think.  I am busy training for my marathon coming this January and have been diligently following my long runs every weekend, going the 20, 25, and 30km distances I’m called to do.  But, have the long runs been depleting my energy stores and inhibiting my body from fully recovering from my illnesses?  It’s a good theory and one my mum is currently standing behind.  She’s suggested that this weekend instead of running the 25 km I am scheduled to do on Saturday, to split it up over the weekend into a 10km and 15km run.  I’ve never changed my long runs up like this and it almost feels like I’ll be cheating a little bit, but would this be the smartest move for me in the current situation?

To be honest, I’m really not sure.  What do y’all think?   

Pure Cardio

As some of you may know, my passion remains with running.  Coming up, I have a 5k race at the end of this week and a half marathon the last weekend in May.  

Alongside INSANITY I am trying to keep up with my running schedule.  If you are a runner you’re probably familiar with weekly long slow distances that accompany the majority of running plans.  Today I went out and did my long run, around two hours, and by the time I got home my knee was ready for some ice and rest.  Because of this, I did not do my INSANITY workout today.  I do not feel all too guilty as I still went out and ran for quite some time; even though it wasn’t a HIIT workout, I feel as if it could be classified as “pure cardio.”

I will get back into the INSANITY grind tomorrow and continue it this week.  However, I will be taking a rest day on Friday, the day before my race, to let my muscles recover and prepare for Saturday morning’s event.  As of right now, I am still planning on doing the INSANITY workout on Saturday after my race, as it’s only a 5k.