How many “sick days” does your running program allow?
Why do we allow ourselves a sick day from work, to recover and treat ourselves well, but fail to do the same during our training programs and other life endeavors?
I get 9 sick days per year at work, hence…hence! by the same logic (albeit very loose), given that my average training cycle is 4 months, I should receive at least 3 sick days per marathon cycle! At least! GIVE EM TO ME!
Take your sick days, because whether you just really don’t feel well physically, or you don’t feel fired up enough emotionally, some days aren’t worth pushing through. You may have some great opportunity to travel at an odd time, have a presentation at work, or want to subject yourself to Coachella. Allow yourself these days to enjoy those experiences and to not obsess about the mileage! On my latest trip to Edinburgh, when I only had 8 total hours of daylight, I decided only to run 13 miles instead of my prescribed 22. Sick day 1 is gone for me, and while I “only” ran 92 miles that week instead of 100+, I enjoyed exploring the city and felt like I used the most of my vacation and daylight! In all honesty, I still count the week as a 100 mile equivalent, but either way, that’s what I needed on that day to feel like a happy human being. In Paris, I just didn’t wanna. Didn’t wanna deal with the traffic, the rain, and the French pedestrians (baguettes everywhere), so I let myself off with a sickie. Let’s be honest, this sport is about making yourself feel miserable for a good portion of the time, there’s no way around that, but there’s also a line, as a semi-pro / amateur athlete, where the sport bleeds into your personal and professional life and, if toxic, begins to affect your quality of life. While I’ve discussed the ways in which we may want to integrate these lives, we want life as a runner, professional, and friend to be as seamless and intrusive-less as possible.
Allocate these days at the start of your training program and give yourself the permission to take them all. You can even write in your normal mileage, and allocate an “SD” for Sick Day next to the number (you know, for accounting purposes), or don’t, but give yourself the reward and potential placebo benefits of writing the “run” in your log. Then, instead of running, treat yourself well and recover even more.
There’s a time and a place for grinding it out, but there’s absolutely a time for treating yourself well, and 3 days out of a 120 day program, especially when allocated towards days that are supposed to be “recovery” days, will definitely not break your performance.
Do good,
Young Austin