I had the best of intentions on Saturday. Our barre n9ne rundate was postponed due to snow in the area so my goal was to run before barre method class at 8:30 on my treadmill to get some miles in, and to finish out the week with my usual 4 runs/week.
However.
I woke up on Saturday morning feeling more wiped than I did on Friday morning (where I only got about 5 hours of sleep compared to the 9 I got on Friday night!). The events of the week had clearly caught up with me.
However.
I am one stubborn-as-hell woman. So I re-set the alarm clock to give myself a little more sleep before barre n9ne. I wanted to kill it at the barre, and figured I’d just get those miles in after class instead.
However.
After a *really* good class and *really* killer shake at the barre (LOVE that), I felt so worked. As if I had nothing left, leaving it all on the floor of that barre studio. A feeling I aim for each time I’m at the barre. It felt amazing.
However.
It also left me feeling so worked that I knew that adding on those miles back at home on my treadmill (remember, snowing outside – no yak trax, must purchase…) wasn’t going to be my smartest move. I try like hell to avoid that thing called “junk miles” – I know they aren’t worth doing.
Miles for miles sake. Sure, they appease that mind of mine that never stops churning, but is it worth it on my body? Nope. Miles for miles sake doesn’t accomplish a single thing (other than calming those aforementioned mind games) – your body tells you when to pull back. The real challenge is listening and actually pulling back. Because you know what? The miles I’ll put in the next day, the day after, and so on? Will be miles worth putting in.
So next time you’re tempted to put in miles just for miles sake? Stop. Listen. Re-assess. If I can do it (remember: stubborn as hell), you can do it.
…you can thank me later. 😉
EatDrinkBreatheSweat 
You can thank me for reminding you of that 😉 No junk miles allowed or miles just for miles sake. With purpose! Glad you opted against it, just as I did that day, because the bod was saying nooooo, and when it actually says no, I just gotta listen, or risk a craptastic, not worth it run.
Yes, you were right there when I needed that reminder on the junk miles thing. I firmly believe that junk miles really do no good to anyone. A few more miles to end a week – what’s it REALLY going to do for you long-term? That’s what I need to remember next time I have the urge to run when my body is telling me “no.”
Very very good advice to keep in mind! 🙂
yes indeed 🙂
Agree! Listening to your body is the #1 rule in staying injury free and getting the most out of your workout. Great post!
Exactly. And my ultimate goal both now and always – remain injury free, remain strong, keep that mojo going!
Yay! I’m proud of you for recognizing this!! Junk miles are just that, junk.
Great post!
EXACTLY!!
Loved this post! It can be so hard to listen to our bodies but so important. I do think there are times we have to push through and just do the miles when in training, but if its for a short, easy run – better to just recover than force it. Agreed!
It is really hard, especially when you have an overactive brain like I do that will NOT stop chatting away sometimes. 😉
I have to say though, even if I were in training for a race, I wouldn’t have run on Saturday. Even if in training, I still believe that junk miles aren’t worth it and will truly not help my training at all if I were to stick to a planned run just because it was “on the schedule.”
AMEN to that! Minds are so tricky. Thats when i really think… will this hurt or help? Miles don’t mean anything.
Great question to ask – how will this help? If you can’t answer it, don’t do it.
A very rational and body-smart decision to make 🙂
Many people can learn from this!
Rational and body-smart – yes. Hard to do – absolutely. But so worth it.
That’s such wise advice. I always feel like I need to get in all my runs but now after 3 days of hard running, my legs hurt and I need a break. And a massage.
GOOD. So listen to those tired legs and rest them. And splurge on that massage!!
Good call. If there wasn’t any real reason to be running the miles, then it made sense to not try to push it for no valid reason. Now, I’d say that if you were training, perhaps it’d be different. But it kind of sounds like barre was the real workout of the day anyway, the one you were most looking forward to I’m guessing. So, you did what was most important to you.
I have to disagree, my friend. Honestly – even if I were training for a race, those miles wouldn’t do me any good at all to bang out. I firmly believe that adding junk miles in just to check them off a training schedule isn’t the right mindset. I look at a plan the same way that I look at rules: they are meant to be broken or altered. If your body is telling you “no, no, no” – it’s wise to listen, even if that means adjusting your training plan that week to include one less run than normal. In all honesty – how would those miles actually benefit me on race day? They really wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. That’s how I look at it (or try to).
Sorry – novel length blog response!!
But if your goal was to train for a race, I’m guessing the workout for the day would have been the run not barre. Your focus would be different. I’m not saying that if you’re body is screaming no to a run you shouldn’t listen. I agree on that one. Here it is a little different in my mind b/c you were doing 2 workouts. One was simply to check off the run. The other one was because you wanted to do it, barre was the focus. The run was just on your weekly list. Does that make sense?
That’s a good point – I suppose my workout plan for the day might have been different if I were in training mode and then maybe I’d have skipped barre to focus on the run. Because like you said, my goal might have been different.
I guess my point was just that even if I was in training and had a run on the schedule but wasn’t feeling the run AT ALL (too tired, sore, etc.), I’d still skip it even if it screwed with my training plan. That’s all. 🙂
I can’t agree more. It is hard to accept that you are going to miss a run, but if you are not running with a specific purpose, I would never stress my body just to say I ran that day. I almost did it last night. I skipped my morning run cuz I was feeling terrible. I ended up feeling better later on in the day and convinced myself I would run 8 miles last night. I was not in the mood to run at all and I told myself that taking the night off was a much better idea that hopping on the treadmill for a run that I really didn’t need to do.
That’s probably the hardest part, huh – the acceptance part. The letting go of that run-vision for the day, if you will. I’m really glad you listened and didn’t go for it even though you tried like hell to jam that 8 miler in!
(whistling) Yes! You can look at at check list or you can take a personal inventory. Great outlook. Your miles that you run focused are better than the ones you just try to chip off a list.
I was thinking about you this week — really hope you had a nice trip and are getting some rest back home.
love this! I say that about all of your posts, but I really do agree with you. Sometimes a run really is to clear my head, but if my body is already spent from other workouts, it’s just not worth it. as usual, thanks for sharing your thoughts! we can relate. 🙂
Pingback: Running randoms | EatDrinkBreatheSweat
Pingback: Numbers. | EatDrinkBreatheSweat