A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

I got sick, but it helped me realise that one day off when you're supposed to run isn't the end of the world

Have some composure where is your posture?

Panic! At the Disco was the first band that I ever had a connection with. They were this quirky group that released ‘A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out’ when I was in high school.

At the time it was a revolutionary album, which is still in high rotation for me to this day. Time To Dance is one of my all-time favourite songs.

Blue Monday

You may have noticed the gym is a little bit emptier this week, or that friend that kickstarted their new fitness regime has gone a little quiet.

That’s not your imagination.

Blue Monday has come and gone this week, it’s a term normally given to the third week in January and in some cases has been labelled the most depressing day of the year.

See here’s the thing, the fitness industry is a multi billion dollar machine, made up of a lot of people and most of them just want to get rich, they’re not necessarily concerned about your overall health (shocking I know).

There is a lot of snazzy marketing that is targeted at those of us looking at taking a bit more time out and looking after our health. We are bombarded with targeted ads, based on google searches made, and as a result it oversaturates us and sometimes we cave and buy the product.

The reality here though is that Blue Monday essentially came about using a formula of many factors: weather conditions, debt level (the difference between debt accumulated and ability to pay), time since Christmas, time since new year's resolutions have been broken, low motivational levels, and the feeling of a need to take action.

This is where the fitness industry has a lot to answer for, I’ve seen a few people I follow on social media doing a ‘juice cleanse’, like their liver can’t do it for them. I’ll admit though when I was younger I was guilty of an 8-week challenge, where I was so restricted in my eating in an attempt to win money that I lost 20 kilograms.

I guess my point here is we are being oversaturated in our day-to-day lives with incredible feats of endurance, strength, products that we all want to either be like or use, but the reality is you didn’t get to where you are in a couple of weeks, so the chances of reversing that in a couple of weeks is basically none.

However, consistent work ethic over a couple of months, and years, and some patience, well that’s where the magic happens. For all my runners out there, go back a couple of years and look at your first race, half marathon, marathon or parkrun, you’re probably not the same person, it didn’t happen overnight, just trust the process.

Getting Real with my Diet

I’ve taken the piss for too long with the way I eat. I’m a recovered binge eater, who was once affectionately known as ‘Beethoven’ by family, friends and colleagues.

I haven’t looked deep enough into how or why it started, potentially a comfort thing, or just because I liked flavour of certain foods, perhaps the fear of missing out. It starts with getting a side of food with your main meal, then it turns into things like being stressed out by an ex-partner that I would then go to the shops and buy a block of chocolate, and eat it on the short walk home.

Perhaps it’s why I can consume a large amount of calories during a run without much stomach troubles, I’m not sure. But, in the past year or so I’ve abused my diet and this is the first time outside of my Fiancé Cassandra, I’ve said that publicly.

It’s ownership. I’ve been eating too much, far too much, and using long runs or just running a long distance as an excuse to refuel the body.

So I decided to get Gym Meals Direct, they’re ready made meals, that are designed to fuel you properly. I’m eating vegetables again properly, I’m getting adequate amount of protein, I’m eating the right amount of carbs, and I’m noticing an uptick in performance, recovery and sleep as a result.

Having meals already prepared for me has given me more time as well, I’m not having to go to the shops, cook a meal, and I feel less inclined to go through the Drive Thru of KFC, which I’ve previously admitted I ate everyday for a month once.

I’m excited to see where this takes me, I’ve put personal best ambitions aside for now as I’m eating in a small deficit with the goal of losing weight, and then will put those back in focus when the time is right. I’m expecting a surplus from two weeks out from the Gumby, so I’m adequately fueled to race that event.

I’m also trying to educate myself, and am now following a number of well informed experts in this field, who provide great information on social media, if you’re interested in finding out more I’m always up for a chat.

Information Overload

There has never been more information out there. It seems each day there is some new discovery, or way of doing things that’s better than we’ve ever done things before.

But, is it the best thing for you?

Anecdotally, more people in my life are wanting to slow down this year, after a couple of years where they’ve been playing catch up, after a couple of years of nothing happening throughout the pandemic.

A small number are ramping up with big goals and dreams for 2024. The best thing about all of this is that neither group of people are wrong, they just have different things they want to get out of the year for different reasons.

I had a friend message me yesterday with a video from a coach on social media, a well respected runner, who gave some hard thoughts on how many kilometres someone should be running each week if they want to run a good race for each ultra distance.

My friend’s initial reaction was a bit of disbelief as they completed last year’s UTA on 50 kilometre weeks, and I’m fair sure that saw them get a silver buckle. My point being this is the year where sweeping generalisations about how someone should train for a race should end, there is no way now anyone who is one-on-one coaching can just take a generic plan and hand it to someone, because what might work for my friend, certainly won’t work for me.

This became apparent to me when I was recently analysing the field for last year’s Coast to Kosci race, the difference in the kilometres each person was running, how they were running and the different sessions was vast. In the end a high mileage runner, beat out a low mileage runner (comparative to the event) in a hotly contested race, showing that there isn’t a one size fits all approach to training for your race, and that it’s best to find a coach that understands that.

Down with the Sickness

I was shattered on Saturday, when after my 10 kilometre run, I knew I just wasn’t right and wasn’t going to be able to go on my second long run the next day, and even worse I missed a close friend’s birthday party.

I couldn’t justify going out and making my friends sick, and I couldn’t bare the thought of fighting my own body to get some kilometres out just to make the numbers balance out on my training plan.

That’s where my mindset has shifted in recent times, I used to grind out kilometres no matter what, now I’m finding that this approach can actually see you struggling through your prep for weeks as you fight to get over your ailment, so while the first three weeks of my training plan will look a bit like the Patagonia logo, after yesterday’s run, I know I’ve put my sickness behind me and it’s well worth the time I had off over the last couple of days to achieve that.

Training for the Week

Monday: Rest Day with a bit of Yoga. I felt really good considering a big week of kilometres in the first week of January.

Tuesday: Solo Intervals - this was tough. Trying to push yourself when you’re not in a crowd is always tough!

Wednesday: 10 kilometres easy in 30 degree heat, found a little bit extra to push later in the session.

A yoga session afterwards with a touch of strength attached as well.

Thursday: An easy out and back of around four kilometres, just wasn’t feeling it, and perhaps the heat was playing a part.

Friday: Four hours really slow in 30 degree heat. Really just tried to stay with it, but my water ran out and I had to grab some from a flowing creek (I have a filter on my bottles, it’s also Canberra’s water catchment where I was grabbing it).

Small respite from the heat at the Cotter

Saturday: Easy 10 kilometres, but I knew I was coming down with something, started well, but by about three kilometres in I struggled to get through it.

Sunday: Rest Day - The Flu cooked me, no long run.

Also walked every night bar Saturday, when I just couldn’t get going.

Run Total: 55.3 kilometres, 1,154 metres of elevation, 7 hours and 55 minutes.

Walk Total: 15.1 kilometres, 98 metres of elevation, 4 hours and 7.

I note that I’m already nearly through another week of training, but you’ll have to wait till next week to get an insight into that. I feel like I’m building and getting my fitness back to a level that will allow me to potentially push 10 loops at the Gumby, 24 is the absolute stretch goal, but I’m becoming more realistic in what I think I can achieve.

I’ll be out at Kowen on Sunday, and looking forward to some ‘Party Pace’ in Pam’s Playground, if you’re coming down say g’day I’ll be easy to spot in Pink!