Days off

When I first found Hal Higdon's training website I was ecstatic. He is a pro, knows what he is doing, and he had it all clearly presented on a website for me. He offers descriptions of each of the runs and how they should feel. After seeing the marathon training plan, I felt confident that I could do it.

And I did. I followed his plan for 5k training. It went great. I followed his plan for 10k training. It went great. I followed his plan for the first 15 weeks of marathon training and it went great, too. I don't stray from the plan. I think that is part of my engineering/logical personality. If the plan says that I should run 16 miles, then I will run 16 miles. I won't even break up the runs. For example, a lot of people run their long runs in two parts because it works easier for their schedule. So, like last weekend when I had to run 20, someone may have run the half marathon that I ran in the morning and then ran 7 more that night. Not me. The plan says to run 20 miles. I will run 20 miles in one fell swoop.

Well, the time has come to stray from the plan and it is really really really difficult for me. My IT band is still inflamed. I can still feel it. I need to take some time off. I am not going to run today. Ack - there I said it. The plan says I should be running 5 miles. But in the description of this week's runs Hal says, "The serious training is done. You now focus on getting to the starting line well rested." Later he says, "The better your preparation (the 15 weeks just past), the more you can afford to take time off, and the more likely you will achieve success." Given that I have not missed a run for the past 15 weeks, I think I am allowed to take a day or two off.

Right?