I’ve felt a bit ‘deep in the winter slump’ this week. The winter running slump was what used to happen before I started my daily run streak (and, indeed, was one of the main reasons why I started my daily run streak). Every winter without fail, I just wouldn’t run at all for a couple of months. The streak put an end to that, thankfully, but there are other ways in which it shows up:
- The ‘strength and conditioning’ winter slump (I am making an effort to mitigate it and am back doing my prehab and gentle S&C again)
- General fatigue and stiffness (my hamstring has been tight and uncomfortable this week so I’ve been protecting it via less running and more cycling)
- Taking a break from race training plans (HIGHLY NECESSARY after the last couple of years but not great for motivation)
- Not making any more effort to get to a parkrun than I have to (I do make sure to attend parkrun every week, but in the winter it’s preferable to take the easy option, which most weeks is just walking to and from Jesmond Dene)
There’s something a bit ‘hygge’ and cosy about just going to your home parkrun all the time in January. Even if the infamous puddle is back and so you walk home with wet feet.
No plans for next week other than ‘attend parkrun’. Taking it a day at a time!