Listening to your body

I decided to take an easy week this week instead of getting back into my regular training.

Last week, I skipped my long run because of some nagging ankle issues.

Instead of jumping right back into it, I decided to take things a little slower this week. I was teaching barre3 a lot and getting ready for a 4-day trip home, so my schedule was quite full.

I ran for almost 2 miles on Monday as planned, but the sunset was a little earlier than I thought it would, so I had to cut my run short to get home before it got dark. Wednesday, I completed my interval run at 11:20am, and according to the weather, it was 90°F and felt like 100°F {or hotter in my opinion}. Needless to say, it was not my best run ever...

On Saturday, the day of my long run, I accidentally snoozed my alarm and didn't wake up until 10am{!!}

I took that as a sign that my body was telling me I needed to rest, and running after 11am in August is the absolute last thing I wanted to do on a weekend. Plus, I was at the bay with my grandmother Nan and we were working on our cookbook {see the picture above from Instagram ~ be sure to follow me to see more updates}.

I also highjacked my niece and nephew, and they played over the bay with us {and helped with recipe testing ~ 5-year-olds are great at making "crust pie" as evidenced below}.

Basically, I didn't really have time to fit in a 6-mile run. So I did the next best thing: I ran half of it.

Since I couldn't bear to be outside until after 7pm, I was only able to run for about 30 minutes. It wasn't pretty but it was better than no run at all.

This weather is just so hot that I feel like it's not in my best interest to run too much.

So I will just keep trying to move forward with my training while I try not to succumb to the intense heat. Luckily, I have about 2 more months until my half marathon on November 1st.

Bottom line: don't push yourself outside your realistic limits.

I obviously needed the extra sleep on Saturday morning, so I can't imagine that waking up early and forcing a 6-mile run on my tired legs would have been very conducive to my training.

It's great to have a training plan and to plan your workouts, but the most important this is to honestly listen to your body and take breaks when you need them {truly need them}. This helps make your training more enjoyable and can help prevent injuries.