Recovery Week My Foot!

So, this is supposed to be my last easy week given that marathon training starts on Monday. But apparently I don't know the meaning of "recovery" or "easy" since I am feeling it from all the running and stuff. Add to that the higher temperatures, lack of sleep, and constant go-go-go non stop work and family obligations and you have yourself a recipe for one tired runner.

After the weekend of baseball where we got home very late on Sunday after the boys lost in a tight Semi-Final battle following two extremely closely contested games just to get there I was wiped starting the work week. Monday was OK given that all I had on tap was leg weights, which I managed at lunchtime. Monday evening brought baseball practice for Owen so the boys and I trekked across town and back, getting home quite late yet again. Once more I had trouble sleeping.

Tuesday morning my alarm went off at 5:15am and I awoke to the sounds of driving rain, lightning and thunder. As I contemplated going out for my run I convinced myself that this was still recovery time and that I would have time to run later, perhaps during warm ups prior to yet another of Owen's baseball games.

Well, that's what I did. What I didn't count on was the heat and humidity! +29C (84.2F) doesn't sound so bad, but when the humidity brings that up into the mid 30sC (high 90sF) this Canadian is still not used to it! I ran around Markham and felt like a fish out of water. This town is not made for runners and is your typical suburbia hell where sidewalks are sparse, end without rhyme or reason, and subdivisions are enclosed by major roads and highways trapping you into running around in circles in front of houses dominated by garages that seem more important to the structures than the living space itself, which I can only assume exists and is relegated somewhere to the back of the compound.*

I did manage to jump a fence at a golf course at about the 8km mark to take a leak in a porto-potty and it was a tough slog from beginning to end. I probably ran faster than I should have on what turned out to be 11km (4:57/km, 7:58/mile) and definitely felt the effects of dehydration afterwards. I polished off my water bottle really fast and was upset to find that the water fountain in behind home plate was not functioning! What a joke. Needless to say we got home really late and were eating dinner at 10pm. Not good for sleeping...

This morning I woke up again to the sounds of my alarm radio at 5:15am and had a tough time getting out of bed. I managed to be out and running at a little past 5:30am, but could tell this was going to be one of those days. You know how sometimes you feel like you are going to have a bad run and things turn out really well? This happens to me all the time, but this morning was NOT one of those times. I felt like it would be tough going and it ended up being tougher than I expected.

I ran down to the Beaches and out to the end of the Boardwalk before hitting some of the hilly streets on my way back home. Well, it was warm and humid already and I was forced to take a short break up Lee Avenue, then another at the top of the very steep Brookside Drive. The last three of four kilometres were a slow and difficult mess as I shuffled myself home. I was definitely feeling the effects of my previous run and this was NOT what recovery week was supposed to be about. If I don't watch it I will enter marathon training exhausted. In the end I did run 15km and my pace was not terrible, but a bit erratic (5:14/km, 8:25/mile).

Here's hoping I can catch up on my hydration and rest before Monday. The hydration should be easy as I can drink water to my hearts content at work. The rest part may be a bit more of a challenge as there is no break for me this week. Every evening has something else that we have to do and leaves me eating late, going to bed later, and sleeping poorly. Oh well, such is life with two busy boys...

* Disclaimer: I suspect those who live in suburban subdivisions have many positives to impart about their choice of accomodation and I don't mean to insult anyone, but I can't imagine living in such a neighbourhood myself. I love being downtown for all sorts of reasons. One of which is that my commute is a 20 minute bike ride. Another is that I don't need a car to go and buy food. Nuff said.