Arg,
insomnia struck again last night—fitful sleep then wide awake at 2.30am,
exactly as has happened to me before a few races. I’ve read that it happens a
lot to runners, fortunately I don’t suffer too much from it. A glass or two of
wine (no longer an option, however) or a homeopathic sleeping pill usually do
the trick; but there have been cases of race anticipation making sleep a short
affair. But it has happened, usually with a 5am race call and I’m afraid of
missing the alarm at 3am.
So what’s
disturbing my sleep now? A few things but yes—a race is one of them. The only
thing is, this particular race is almost 6 months away, and yet I am already in
anticipation mode, that mix between excitement that it’s finally here (but it
isn’t!) and the healthy fear of what is to come (but I’m not racing!).
Well, my
last non-stop 100-miler (actually, my only one) was 14 years ago. Since then,
I’ve gained experience, and therefore a healthy respect for what I am about to
do. But I also want to enjoy myself and have a good race—which I did last time,
but then (unmarried and no kids) I had a lot more time on my hands to train.
Now, to compensate, it’s out at lunch time, running home to work, or up at 4am
on weekends so I don’t miss too much of the breakfast with the family (at least
that’s the routine once I finalize my recovery from a dislocated shoulder).
For the
first time in 15 years, I have actually charted some semblance of a training
plan, I am testing gear, and I have scheduled some trail runs as training
races. Actually, since originally I was intending to sign up for the UTMB, the
past five years have turned out to be training races. It’s just that since the
birth of my second child end 2008, I had no idea if I could find the time to
train adequately for something like this. I’d only been running for 18 months
when I did the Desert Cup, but I also had loads of time on my hands.
Anyway,
where was I?
Insomnia… A
bit of lack of sleep before a race is manageable, if you have enough sleep on
previous nights and because of the adrenaline and race excitement on the day.
But five months before, every other night?... I suppose I really will have to
get out the candles and practice meditation to empty my thoughts.
If I
consider it training for an ultra trail, I might actually succeed.
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