Tonight I ran six miles on the treadmill at around 9:00 pace. A recovery run for me as per the experts. I plan on running hard tomorrow and didn't want to put out too much tonight. But this post isn't about that workout.
It is about perspective and context. Today when I weighed myself, it showed a significant weight gain from last week. I knew that wasn't right and almost certainly the result of water retention and sodium. But even still, I was not pleased. But I also know that the weight will come down in a day or so. And over the weekend I was probably dehydrated so it was low to begin with. Lots of people say don't weigh yourself everyday precisely so that you don't get the result I got today -- a temporary increase. What is important is the long term trend and weekly weight movement.
And when I ran today, my heart rate was low. Last Tuesday I had my first run after six days off from sickness. I ran about same pace, and bam, my heart rate was off the charts for that pace. It concerned me honestly. I had to slow down, and even then my HR was high. Today, on the other hand, my heart rate was really low -- like 10% lower for same pace, same treadmill.
So, perspective on the good and bad. Don't put too much stock in daily variations and focus on the trends. Don't get too upset if one day is not the best -- it will all average out. Focus on the trend, and if it is good, be pleased with that.
It's funny that your post tonight happened to be about focusing on trends. I was just thinking about this myself earlier.
ReplyDeleteI assume you're a very fit person based on your running statistics alone, but I am what I like to consider "a work in progress." I've lost 65 pounds in the last two years, and couldn't run half a mile to save my life. Now I clothes shop where normal women shop and can run 10k's on consecutive weekends. Looking at the big picture it's an obvious positive trend. But if you break it down day by day, you'd see a lot of not-so-great blocks. Those are the times I have to dust myself off, remind myself how far I've come, and keep pushing through because I'm not at the end of my journey yet. Overall, the good days have far outweighed the bad to where they almost haven't made a difference. I think it's that way now with your recovery. You're already on your way to bouncing back and I have no doubt you'll be back to where you want to be in no time.
Just keep taking care of you :o)
so true, sometimes I do the 10 minute rule, if it feels like a really crappy run after 10 minutes, I turn around and go home, tomorrow it will be better.
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