Pushing Yourself

I am always asking you to push hard and even harder in the Muck Up Seshs, whether it be strength or speed work. Endurance is a bit different as you are working on your distances so you need to run a pace that is comfortable for you, so as to achieve that distance and sometimes the slower the better.

However, when I talk about pushing yourself or getting out of your comfort zone..I’m generally meaning that you are working quite hard with the aim of improving your fitness, speed, endurance or strength, which in turn makes you fitter and stronger. Often these sessions are shorter in time but much harder in intensity

One or two things can occur when you are pushing yourself to your limits physically..

The goals or desired outcomes are that you improve your fitness, by extending yourself physically. It means that your body will start to respond to the hard work and your muscles will grow accordingly and your cardio fitness will improve… the end result is that you will feel better, fitter and stronger...you will have more energy to apply to other areas of your life as well and generally you should feel good….

However, I’m sorry to say there can be another outcome...it’s where you are pushing yourself to limits that are making you unwell. You are not recovering from your workouts, you are getting tireder, sorer and are finding you haven’t the energy to complete workouts or even other activities in your life...this is definitely not the desired out come of pushing yourself  in sport or running.

So how do you tell the difference?

The good outcome….is when you feel exhausted at the end of a work out but a few minutes later your breathing ok, you are talking and laughing with your running buddies. Your muscles are sore the next day but you can still go about normal daily activity, you sleep well and by the time your reach your next workout you are feeling energetic enough to push yourself to your limits again. You tend to have more energy with other activities and generally feel an improvement in your health and well being

The bad outcome. ..you are still tired, sore and weak after your workout and the next day. You are continually tired, you are losing weight at a rate that’s not healthy, you feel tired at the start of a workout or you cannot complete a workout, you start to become unwell, colds, flues achy and even start to get injuries…this is not the desired outcome

Ok what do you ask yourself if you are feeling the effects of a bad outcome?

Am I running everyday?

If the answer is yes…Stop. I yell that from the mountain tops but still some people don’t get it...its quality not quantity with running. I don’t run every day and yet I still train and run marathons...think about it..do you ever see Marie take a day off sick, pull out of a race, suffer from overtaining?…I am the original Lazy Runner..I must be doing something right. Your body needs at least 24 hours to recover; the muscles are damaged and stressed, so now it’s time to let them mend

Are you running too far?

Ok we need to do a long run especially if we are training for distance events, but that is one long run a week or even fortnight, not three a week. You pick the day…do your longest run, do not run the next day and then it’s done for the week. So that’s it, other runs should be about 6-10km..if you look at my programs I’ve even gone to the longest run being once a fortnight, better still, that’s all you need, the body will respond, so I say low week , high week, with the longest run being done in the high week.

Are you pushing yourself 100% at the Muck Up Seshs?

If the answer is yes, that’s good, that’s what I am asking of you…however, ask yourself this...are you pushing to 110%?,if the answer to that is yes, then stop...I didn’t ask that of you...how do you know the difference?
Ok, use this measurement… if you can run 8-10km on a long run and you can’t complete a Muck up Sesh without stopping or feeling like you want to drop dead, then you are pushing over 100%..you should be able to complete those sessions, they are usually only about 30-40mins of running and 5km in distance, so no reason why you can’t. Figure out what you are capable of, I can give you guidelines but I’m not you, you have to decide your 100%, and that should get you through a Muck Up Sesh

Are you getting obsessed with your running?

Do you feel bad if you haven’t gone out every day for a run?...that’s bad. Ok tell yourself, I’m not allowed to run everyday, Marie Said So! What can I do? Walk on the alternate days if you feel strongly about getting out every day, ride a bike, swim, yoga, pilates, gym work…sure you can do sport or activity everyday, just not running!

What are you running for?

To win all the races you go in? only 0.1% of runners win, a very elite group
To become the best runner in the world?  Not going to happen unless you have Kenyan blood
To have fun? Not much fun if you feel tired and sore all the time
To get fit and challenge yourself to some great personal running goals?  Yes, what a great mindset..so please do it sensibly. Figure out what you body is capable of and be nice to it…it looks after you so well, but you have to look after it in return 

Heres the deal…

You love Lazy Runner..and you want to get to as many sessions as you can..good that’s three or four a week, all done...no more running

You love Lazy Runner but you like to get out by yourself a couple of days a week or with a friend for some nice easy running. Heres what you do… one or two with Lazy Runner, one or two by yourself.

You like the speed and endurance session but you find the strength workouts too much or they make you sore or aggravate an injury...talk to me…I will let you know what your group is doing weekly and I can advise you on which sessions to attend

Like most things in life you can’t do it all, figure out what is best for you, what is your favourite way to train, how can you run

After all of that and you are still not sure?
Go to your doctor
I don’t know if it's from my 20 years of nursing or if I’m just an old fashioned girl….but I always say if you are not well and you dont know why go to your GP

So many runners and athletes race off to every other allied health professional like physios, chiropractors, osteo paths acupuncturists, herbalists and even masseuses; they spend lots of money and still are often unsure of their diagnosis. A good GP will check everything, order tests or xrays, offer advise about the right course of treatment for you and generally help you find the right path, at a really good rate!

Last Word…

One thing that you can be sure of is that when you turn up to a Lazy Runner Muck Up Sesh and you see me standing there, you are going to be pushed and pushed hard. Why? You ask..well lots of reasons. I’m mean and nasty, I enjoy my work a little too much, I want to get the best out of my runners and that's what you pay me for..so don’t come to a muck up sesh expecting to take it easy , not finish it and just do you own thing, it aint going to happen. But you can take charge of your running and fitness, by figuring out what your limits are, what your body can do and really make it work for you