Missed A Run? Don’t Sweat It.

Guest Blogger Eric Jorgensen

We just celebrated Memorial Day and a lot of you probably traveled or hosted travelers. I went to Los Angeles for the weekend. I barbecued, shopped, drank cheap beer, listened to music and hung out with my friends and my brother. I didn’t run. Not once. It was great.

If you missed workouts this weekend, or if you might miss some soon, don’t worry about it. Missed workouts happen all the time and people still run incredible marathons. Whatever you do, don’t try to make up for lost time with extra miles. You’re gambling with your health.

I skipped a long run, which you’re really not supposed to do when you are training for a marathon. I think it was good for my mind to step away from the running shoes for a couple days. I don’t plan on skipping any more long runs, though.

Try not to make a habit of skipping runs, but if you miss one, don’t tack on miles to a future run. That’s a generally-accepted awful idea with injury potential. Just stick to your schedule as if you had not missed your workout. If you’ve missed several workouts you should consider stepping back your next few workouts.

Skipping my long run, which was actually scheduled to be a shorter one, with an extra day off after it, will not hurt me the way skipping a 20-miler would. Don’t skip any of those longer, long runs if you can help it. Those are important for building strength in your legs.

The runs I’ve gone on this week have been great. My legs felt fresh and I was excited to get on the road, as opposed to last week when I started feel that nagging boredom when I thought about running. I’m back at full force.

I consider that an accomplished mission.