After several weeks of holiday-related stress and endless social commitments that culminated in my participating in a family tradition of sharing with my kids a truly nasty Christmas cold, I found myself limping (figuratively) toward the end of the year trying to keep some momentum in my training.
It's a tough week, this last week of December, with its vacation hours, its travel, and its family commitments. It's tough also because of the temptation to take it easy, to feel the need to take it easy (perhaps to recover from the holiday, or the days that preceded it?). I feel sympathy with the kids who come in at 9:00 or 9:30 in the morning every day during vacation.
The last week of December is like the last week of summer vacation before cross-country. This one week of training doesn't guarantee anything -- not records, not championships. But on the other extreme, the failure to continue training during this week can derail an entire indoor season. Not everyone trains during this time. Families travel. Schedules are turned upside down. Some people just feel the need to enjoy themselves without the added stress of running. It's a time when you really notice the difference between the athletes who want to train and those who view it as necessary, but not enjoyable.
I admit, I find training easier than being with my relatives. Both activities are stressful, but training makes me stronger and more confident, whereas family dinners with my in-laws leave me a broken man. But I digress.
Training is about making steady progress over time. Therefore, training tends to be most effective when it becomes routine, even boring. When training, an athlete wants to be free of distractions and able to direct energy into the sport. In other words, Christmas is a particulary difficult time to be training. Furthermore, to the outside world -- to friends and family, to holiday visitors -- training looks like an anti-social behavior completely at odds with the spirit of the season.
I woke up Christmas morning and I went for a run. It was just barely light and the eternal dull roar of the Mass Pike was reduced to an occasional distant rush of a single car on an obscure errand. I didn't feel great -- my head ached and my sinuses were bothering me -- but the run wasn't really bad at all. I had a chance to be alone with my thoughts, to have a little personal time before the onslaught. The next day, Monday, it was back to practice.
I was surprised at how few kids were there, but then I remembered how many of them were out of town visiting relatives during their week off from school. I also noted that others besides myself had caught colds ...or worse... and wouldn't be doing much. Outside, a light but persistent rain fell. It was just another day. Just the way I like it.
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