My alarm goes off. I'm tired and my legs are feeling sore from a workout earlier this week. In the fog of my early morning thoughts, I half wonder if I'm even up for the 18-mile-long run I have planned for today.
As an athlete, one of the most important things I've learned is to listen to my body. In a sport like long-distance running, your legs take a pounding. I'm still only a few weeks out from my victory at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials at the end of February, where my mind and body were primed for my absolute best performance.
Right now, I'm recovering and slowly getting back into the groove of training. That means today, I'm doing something I don't usually do when we are at the thick of training: cutting myself some slack and hitting the snooze button. There will be plenty of early morning long runs and workouts in the weeks and months ahead.