Race prep

I’ve been trying to write this post all week, and haven’t been able to quite nail it. I love to train, that’s no secret. But, training isn’t just about showing up at the gym and doing a workout. To give you some perspective where I’m coming from, let me start with this list.

Why I train:

It’s my favourite way to de-stress.
I sleep better.
My body feels strong.
I do cool things I never thought I’d ever be capable of doing. Like, run 22 races. Or, run a half marathon. Twice!
The time I invest in training, I more than recover with additional energy.
I love encouraging others to take up an active lifestyle.
It makes me happy.
Because I can.

Race season

In a few short weeks, I have my first RX1 race of the season. RX1 races involve running between 4 and 7 km and doing about 12 fitness challenges. These often involve pushing, pulling, lifting, stepping, and weights. I’ve run in 22 of these races over the past few years. Four weeks later, I’m running the Ottawa 10K during the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend.

This means that I’ve been doing lots of training. Running, weight training, yoga, and flexibility. This year, I’m also a member of Team Awesome, which such a cool thing! Being a member of this amazing community of runners has shown me that I still have a lot to learn as a runner. My fellow Team Awesome members run in all kinds of weather: cold, snow, ice, freezing rain. I, on the other hand, admire their social media posts in awe, and then head to the gym! I want to be a better runner, so I’ve changed my training to focus on improving my running.

I rely on my trainer’s guidance and expertise. Mat and I discuss my training goals on a regular basis. When we met in the fall, he set up a training plan for this season’s races, taking into account my goals as well as all my previous injuries and body issues. Since my goal for the 10K is to run it in under an hour, I needed to work on my speed. How to do that? I’ve been doing a lot of interval training to get me to what Mat calls the threshold zone, aka the vomit zone! Gotta love this guy!

What does it take to train for races?

It takes time and commitment. It also takes creativity and flexibility because things don’t always work out. This past winter has been quite challenging: cold, snowy, lots of mixed precipitation. Between the ice (which scares the hell out of me!) and the cold temps, I just can’t seem to get myself organized to run outside. I’ll happily snowshoe, cross-country ski, hike and walk.

Training and treatments

Training also takes a healthy body. My body has been giving me several issues this winter. And that’s completely normal. All athletes have aches and pains.

Those are part of the process. To help fix these aches and pains, I turn to my pros: Mat and my osteo, Srdan. I trust these guys. My weight training has been focused on activating the right muscles to avoid compensation. Srdan helps me regain my mobility whenever something feels off. I’ve seen him several times for swollen knees, tight hamstrings, glutes and quads.

In addition to training with Mat twice a week, I’m also doing yin yoga once a week, lots of stretching, and going out for a snowshoe run and/or brisk walk twice a week. I’ve always stretched, to some extent, but recently stretching has become a workout on its own. I hold each stretch position between 60 and 90 seconds. This was the advice from Mat and Srdan.

I have the type of personality that loves to train hard and to push myself. Working out is my happy place.

I do not train/run when I’m in serious pain. I’m not referring to the post-workout soreness. I mean pain that keeps you awake at night. I do not subscribe to the “no pain, no gain” train of thought. As far as I’m concerned, that BS. Over the years, I’ve learned to listen to my body. When it hurts, I stop that particular exercise. I’ll adjust what I’m doing. I don’t want any long-term, irreversible injuries.

What to do?

Ongoing communication with Mat is essential. He’ll adjust my training based on my injuries. Mat’s had me doing a lot of running. Faster running than I’d ever run. And, it was amazing! I still can’t believe how fast I ran. Then, my hips reminded me that they weren’t happy. No problem. Time for a re-adjustment. Lately, in addition to cardio, Mat has added a lot of strength training that also involves stretching and muscle activation. Muscle activation is key because when we’re injured, our body protects itself by compensating. By activating the muscles that aren’t working, we prevent further injury and heal quicker.

Aches and pains won’t stop me

You’d think that with all these aches and pains, I’d be tempted to stop. Nope. Not going to happen. Being active is non-negotiable. I remember what I felt like before I became active and I’m not going back there! I will adjust my activity and continue to benefit from working out rather than say “oh, I can’t work out because my [insert issue here] hurts/is injured.”

We all have aches and pains. That’s normal, especially as we age. But, sitting on the couch won’t make the issues go away. If anything, inactivity makes problems worse and even creates new problems. Our bodies are incredible machines! And we only get one machine in this lifetime. Much like when a car breaks down we don’t stop driving it, but rather take it to a mechanic, when our bodies hurt, we consult with professionals who can help us fix the hurt.

Speaking of professionals, I’d like to give a huge shout out to Mat and Linda from Le Fitness Loft for helping me edit this post. You guys are the best!