New Lab, New Plan

Today I started working in a new lab! First year grad students rotate through several labs over the course of a year before they pick a place to do their thesis work. It's a great way to try out some different things before you commit 5+ years to one group, but it's a bummer to feel like a nomad for 10 months. I had gotten comfortable with the people and protocols in my old lab JUST in time to switch.

Regardless, today was fun and I feel good about my projects for the next few months. I'm in a new, much fancier building that has awesome wooden lockers for the scientists and SHOWERS in the bathrooms! I've been wanting to start swimming or running before work, but it would have been a huge pain to come back to the apartment just to shower and then walk to my lab. Now I can just finish my workout by running right to my building and showering/changing there!

Anyway...now that I'm done geeking out over a shower...
(But really, if you can't get excited about the little things, what else is there?)

I tried to go on an easy recovery run yesterday afternoon, but my calf "injury" was bothering me so I cut it short. One of my goals for my running from here on out is to listen to my body. I have a problem with either being a slave to a training schedule or totally blowing it off. Actually, the two are related - as soon as I miss or modify a scheduled run, I figure the whole thing has gone to hell in a handbasket and my plan spirals out of control. This leads to (a) initial overtraining/injury because I push when I shouldn't and then (b) severe undertraining because I'm either injured or I've given up.

No more.

This time around, I'm going to be smart, i.e. I'm not going to do 7 miles on a strained calf just because that's what my calendar told me to do. I've been an athlete since I was 9, and I need to trust that I know the difference between normal pain and "back off now!" pain. I've also left myself plenty of time to get ready for this marathon, as opposed to the 1.5 months "training" that I've done for both of my half marathons. Hopefully this means that I won't beat myself up for modifying runs because I'll know that I have time to make up the missed miles. I'm going to be serious about my stretching and foam rolling, I'll improve my nutrition, and I'll make sure that I get enough sleep. Come April, I will be ready to kill some miles and eat some hills (well, I'm always ready for hills).

And to lighten the mood, I'll leave you with a picture of Carly, a.k.a. the jello dog.

She sleeps like this all. the. time. 

Do you follow a training plan?
One of my favorite bloggers, Skinny Runner, is a marathon-running beast and she never follows a plan. Color me jealous.