Dispatch #5: When To Hold Back

Hey folks! Five weeks of regular dispatches in and I somehow never seem to run out of things to write about.

Right now I am four months away from the Phuket Marathon, and I should really start to ramp up my mileage. Currently my longest run in the week is at 12 kilometers, which is a nice improvement from zero back in December.

I take marathon preparation very seriously, and I’m not the kind of person who goes into these long endurance events on a whim. Again this weekend we were sadly reminded that marathons take a lot out of your body; at the Condura Skyway Marathon two men passed away — one running the marathon, and the other the half-marathon.

I am sure they both prepared well for their race, but this was a stark reminder of the fact that the first guy who ran the marathon, legendary Pheidippides of the Greek army, also died at the end of it. That distance demands our respect.

This week in training I had to pull back from the prescribed workouts, and for very good reason. My entire household has been hit with a nasty flu virus! My nephew is absolutely adorable and is the apple of my eye, but everyone knows that when toddlers bring a virus into the house, almost everyone comes down with it.

I was teetering on the edge with a scratchy throat and a stuffy nose, so I decided not to push my body. I think the only sessions I adhered to 100% were the swim workouts. The long bike and run workouts I eliminated entirely, as they depress the body’s immune system for up to 36 hours.

My body appreciated the rest and was able to bounce back, although on my regular Friday run I still wasn’t 100%. Where the program said I needed to do 75 minutes, I only did 60 and that was all I could really handle. Anyway, this is a new week and I can better hit the mileage again on Friday.

I’m still swimming and cycling because they’re great for building aerobic base as well as recovery. I also need to keep those skills and strengths sharp for Challenge Vietnam happening in September.

Also, I really like exercising daily — it’s good for the heart! Not to be cheesy because Valentine’s Day is this weekend, but February is also National Heart Month. How’s your heart health? Check this chart out from the folks at Bankers Health Group:

click image for larger version

There’s plenty of easy changes we can make to our lifestyle to prevent cardiovascular disease, which is a major health epidemic not just for the US, but also for the Philippines.

In other news, voting is still ongoing for Best Fitness Blog at the Nuffnang Awards. Please vote for me!

If you’ve got a Twitter account, just click below to vote:
Tweet #NNFitspirationNoelle
//

On Facebook, just like this post:

The voting will go on for the next two weeks and will comprise 30% of the total score. The other 70% will come from a judging panel, so I hope the blog entries I submitted are up to snuff.

Another thing: have you joined my Color Manila Run race kit giveaway? Join here. I’m drawing the six lucky winners on Wednesday!