Week 8: Rest But No Rest
Despite the pressure of work stress, I still managed to keep myself active.
So, I work as a designer on a magazine; and every month, deadlines approach like tropical thunderstorms… ominously! We get through them, but it can upset the weekly training rhythm – no matter how hard I try. By the end of the day, I’m just too tired to put on my running shoes and head out the door.
This week was definitely one of THOSE deadline weeks! Getting a magazine to print AND moving house, and not much chance (or energy!) to train as consistently as I’d like – but I realised how much exercise you can get in, even when life is taking you for a joyride.
So I strapped on my Polar M400 and switched on the daily activity tracker to check if there was any training benefit to running around an office, packing boxes, or dashing out for a quick bite and generally being madly busy.
What I discovered through the Polar activity tracker is that I often reached 50% and more of my required daily activity goals, just by being conscious of my activity levels during the day. Every so often the M400 would beep to tell me that it was time to move… and I did! It reminded me to get up and walk around a bit, to increase the blood flow in my body, and that was a welcome break from the pressure of deadline.
As much as we’ve been talking about training for a marathon in this blog, I’ve found that using modern HRM technology is about more than just monitoring your pace and effort on a run. It becomes a valuable tool to keeping yourself active – and this week especially, it reminded me that I’m not quite as sedentary as I’d thought. I felt better about that!
Have a look at my activity pattern for Tuesday. Despite a hectic day at the office, I still managed to achieve 4 697 steps and burn 1 552 kilocalories – not bad for a desk-based job.
The great thing about the feedback from the Polar Flow was the encouragement I received: “You were sitting for quite a few hours. Happy you did not sit too long at a time.”
Thanks Mr Polar!
Next week it’s taper time, ahead of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. Even though I’ve been concerned that I’ve lost some fitness from thanks to my sporadic training pattern, it’s clear from the feedback of Mauritz ‘Coach Mo’ van Rensburg that I can bank on most of the training I did two months back for the Hout Bay Trail Challenge, because it built up a great aerobic base. So for the next few days, resting is more important than training – but keeping muscles active is also crucial.
As you can see from my taper week plan, strides will keep my muscles and nervous system activated; but the focus is on being fully prepared for the big day next Sunday. Good luck to all the runners (there are 8 000 doing the full marathon, I believe!). See you on the start line!
Alana Doyle is a committed trail and road runner and has completed events like the famed 160km UTMB (Ultra Trail Mont Blanc) run in France. This year her target events include the Hout Bay Challenge Trail Run and the Sanlam Cape Town marathon.
Follow Alana’s running journey here:
Week 2: My First Win… But at What Cost?
Week 3: When The Heart Says Go, But The Body Says No
Week 6: When The Heart Falls In Line
Week 7: A Little More Self-Control, Please!
Learn more from Polar about Top Marathon Mistakes To Avoid.
READ MORE ON: alana's blog heart-rate-monitor polar
