One last note re: pace

I've been thinking about the way that I seemingly suddenly was able to run much faster.

(Going from a 12-minute to a 9-minute mile pace represents a 25% improvement -- in my mind, pretty huge. My longer runs have been averaging out at 10:00 miles or a bit less, still a 15% reduction in my previous pace. And before you go admiring my numerical ability, I had to call my husband for help with the math to figure this out. Why didn't I pay more attention in school?)

Anyway, I've been thinking about it. And it does give seem credence to the idea -- which I've previously pooh-poohed -- that periods of relative rest in training may be just as important as periods of intense effort. I pushed myself harder than ever before last fall and completed a marathon, albeit slowly. Then I took a step back for six weeks. I kept exercising, but it was more about maintenance than anything else.

Lo and behold, when I put myself back on a training program, my pace was immediately faster than it had ever been before. Interesting.

Supposedly, the same holds true for weight training. You start with lighter weights and more reps, build the intensity, build it again, build it once more .... and then start over again at the beginning. But you're building on a more solid foundation.

I never really wanted to think that "taking it easy" could be good for me. I just wanted to push, push, push all the time. If I wasn't totally going for it, I thought I was being lazy. Now, I'm thinking, maybe not. Maybe there's something good about just maintaining every once in a while. Maybe I don't have to feel like a slacker if I'm not knocking myself out several times a week. Maybe there's a time for that, and a time to step it back a little. As the song goes, to everything there is a season ...

I know this is old news. I've read it before and I've heard it before. But now, finally, I am taking it in. I get it. That's just the kind of stubborn person I am. All the experts in the world can tell me the right or optimal way to do something -- but I have to feel it myself to believe it. That can make for slow progress or funny mistakes along the way. I know it could also put me in a place where I might hurt myself -- thank goodness I haven't done that yet. Will this realization make me more likely to accept conventional wisdom on something that doesn't feel quite right to me? Probably not.

But it might help.