It’s been one week of absolutely no running.

NO RUNNING….AND I DID THIS ON PURPOSE…

AND I SURVIVED!!!

It has been a strange week.

It’s going to be a couple of strange weeks.

I’ve officially put myself on a running hiatus after training for and participating in two 50ks in the last few months (Holiday Lake and Grayson Highlands).

Basically, I’ve been in training mode since December and need a month off for mental and physical health.

One of my life goals is to stay a lifelong athlete. I need competition in my life. I always want to be competing because competition brings me joy, purpose, a reason to stay healthy, adventure, inspiration and so much more.

Also, I never want to lose my “super power” of being able to run up mountains like a freaking goat.  To keep this ability sharp I have to avoid overuse injury.

To be a lifelong athlete, it is important to take time off.  Not time off from being active, mind you, just time off from trail running.  This allows the body to recover and the mind to relax a bit.  So until June I am not signing up for any future events (beside a few backpacking trips I’m planning).

Instead for the month of May I’m doing two things:

  1. Focusing my running muscles and joints on recovery
  2. Expanding my horizons in different activities

I’m going to be doing much more yoga, bodyweight training, biking and swimming (if my face doesn’t swell up like the StayPuff Marshmallow Man again).

I’m not going to be in “training mode” per se so I won’t be on as strict of a diet or a training regime.  This doesn’t mean I won’t eat healthy most of the time, but it does mean that if someone offers me some cheesecake you can bet your life I’m not turning it down (and I’ll probably ask for seconds…sue me).

This is going to be a fun FUN month.  I’m looking forward to trying some new activities.  And I’ll make sure to report on my adventures (hopefully none involving face-planting on the bike)!

(Also I owe you guys a Grayson Highlands report which I promise I’ll post sometime this week…less training also equals more writing)

SIDE NOTE: I am signed up for a trail series in my town that I will be participating in once a week.  Each Wednesday in May about 45 people will run a 4-6 mile loop on the trails.  Times will be updated every week until there is an overall winner (think NASCAR for trail runners).  I’ve skipped it the last two years and wanted to make sure I signed up this year….though I probably won’t be competing too hard.