Raise your hand if you stayed up too late last night watching television.
When my sister was here for a few days this past week, she asked me why I didn’t get any channels on my tv and why I didn’t have at least any “rabbit ears”.
Well, for one, I’ve learned that tv and “healthy me” just don’t mix. It’s either one or the other. I used to spend my days sitting, staring at the screen ALL DAY LONG. I cannot afford to do that to my body anymore. It deserves more care.
I have just grown customed to not watching tv except for movies and such. It also saves money.
So I decided to give in a little…more out of curiosity than anything and went ahead and attached the rabbit ears to my tv to find out the I have 16 channels.
Last night was spent watching “The Doctors”…(at least something somewhat educational, right? I found this justifying.)
I forced myself up this morning feeling like I defiantly have control over how much tv I watch now.
But I am exhausted. Not enough sleep has left me quite sluggish this morning.
Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Dried Organic Blueberries
Banana
Coconut
Here are some common culprits for sluggish runs:
- Inadequate fueling, whether on a daily basis or during the actual run: Make sure you’re taking in enough quality calories and try to eat a balance of carbs, protein, veggies, fruits, and healthy fats. Also, if you’re running or exercising for an hour and a half or so, you probably want to take in calories during your runs (note: the distance that requires refueling will vary from person to person).
- Hydration issues: DRINK WATER. ALL THE TIME. Especially DURING your runs. Get used to carrying a water bottler or use a hydration belt or CamelBak. You might also want to replace electrolytes (Gatorade or whatnot) if you’re running long distances.
- Weather: The heat plays a major factor in sluggish runs. You can’t control the temperatures, but you can control how you deal with it.
- Too Much, Too Soon: The general rule of thumb is don’t increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% a week. So if you run 10 miles on week run, don’t run more than 11 the next.
- Don’t tackle two goals at once: Burnout is inevitable if you try to increase distance and speed at the same time. Both are really hard! Just pick one goal to work at a time, although I do think it’s helpful to do a comfortable speedwork day when you’re training for long distances, too.
- Too much “other stuff:” Dude, life is stressful. If you’re moving, starting a new job, or breaking up with your significant other, it might not be the ideal time to push yourself physically. If you’re feeling sluggish, your body might just asking for an AND physical break. Hold off on big goals until you’re at a better place.
- Listen to your body, not the training plan: Whether you use a standard training plan or create your own, it’s impossible to predict in advance how you will react to training. Be flexible with your plan and pull back on mileage if you’re feeling sluggish. Constantly re-evaluate it and adjust your mileage goals. Take a few extra rest days (trust me, it won’t “ruin” your race) or make it a taper week.
- Unrealistic race goals: Sometimes, for one reason or another, our original race goal (whether time or distance) becomes unrealistic. It’s important to constantly reassess if you need to drop down to a shorter distance or be more forgiving about pace.
- And the big one… SLEEP: For me, the biggest culprit of sluggishness is always sleep. So, get in bed early!
Now, I promised you in yesterdays post that I would share with you who we threw overboard the tower we climbed:
You can watch “Mr. Parachute Man” take his dive here.
Yes, we are children at heart. 
and it’s fun to let it out sometimes.
