Can you believe that we are already half way through January 2018? I can’t! This past week has flown by and the departure for our MAD2Run journey is growing closer (On Friday it will be 8 weeks until we hit the road to Cape Town).
When time is flying by, recovery can easily slip by the way side and be ignored.
I’ll be honest with you and say that my body took a bit longer to recover from our MiniMAD journey than I expected, although this is probably my own fault as I convinced myself to do 100km in the week as a ‘tester’. Those who know me well know that I do sometimes make silly decisions to push my boundaries a bit, oh well (thank heavens we are all different).
I did my best to recover as best as possible over the weekend, eating whenever I could, probably a bit too much sugar though. But minimal sleep definitely hindered the recovery process. A mental note to self – it’s important to keep smiling even if you’re tired, because it’s amazing to be able to do crazy things that push your mental and physical ability… you learn a lot about yourself!
Recovery and Nutrition is important. It’s easy to forget about it when you are training in and among all the other happenings of daily life. After all most us are not pro athletes. We slot our training in the very early mornings or evenings. If you don’t replace those calories that you are burning with the right fuel, I find that you need an extra cup of coffee or two to make it through the day!
Recovery isn’t only about replacing the fuel in your engine, it’s also about mentally resetting so that you are ready for the next challenge or work out. I enjoy having some ‘time out’ to recharge mentally, it’s going to be key for me to find little gaps on MAD2Run so that I can keep my personal spirits high and energize those around me.
The bottom line? Don’t ignore recovery, make time for it and remember that sleep is important (Check out Thrive Global if you need convincing). Looking back on MiniMAD I know that I didn’t take recovery seriously. Coming from a cycling back ground, I know what it takes to push your body, but recovering from running is slightly different.
We all have challenges and mountains waiting for us, but without proper recovery and recharging time those mountains may never be summited. Remember to make time for yourself and to refuel your body. Especially if you are running to Cape Town from Jozi which is roughly 1500km away (the more I look at that number the more real it feels).
Enjoy the week and take your recovery seriously. We have the whole of 2018 ahead of us so start with the good habits to make it a power year!
If you have any tips to help us on our journey to Cape Town, please share them with us in the comments below.
Ciao till next time
