There's a fine line between being hardcore and just being stupid. And for much of my life I've exhibited a talent for finding that line, stomping on it, kicking it, and then boldly walking over it.
What has this meant? I'll spare you the details of my formative years, but what it means currently is that I've been battling through one injury after the next during my marathon training. Nothing's been serious, but it's been a parade of small, nagging injuries that have meant unplanned downtime during my schedule.
The reason that this is happening is simple and you'll find warnings about it in pretty much any running training book you read -- I stepped up my mileage way too quickly. During my previous half-marathon training program (can be found here, highly recommended), my peak weekly mileage was 35 miles. During my current marathon program (adapted from Pete Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathoning), my peak weekly mileage jumped to 55 miles. And while there was a chance I may have been able to handle the step-up in mileage, my training also included races, serious speed work, and training on hills.
Hardcore? Possibly, I guess. Stupid? Yes, definitely.
So now, as I write this, my right foot is wrapped in an icepack as I continue to care for a tweaked Achilles -- the third injury stoppage in this training cycle. While none of the injuries held me up for long, they were over-training injuries that were very likely unnecessary. Granted, when you're pushing yourself hard enough to really improve, there's always the chance of boo-boos, but smart training means training hard enough to improve without pushing yourself into unnecessary downtime. After all, it's much tougher to improve when you can't train.
Like I said, it's a fine line. On this particular occasion, I rambled way past that line. Will it be the last stupid training mistake I make? Doubtful. But every mistake is an opportunity to learn.
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