i’m about to leave for two weeks in ireland. we’re hiking, not running, so this is less “how’d the trip go” and more “here’s what i already know is coming.”

no run streak survives two weeks off. i know that. i’ve done this before, at some point every runner takes a break, comes back, and finds out the hard way what got left behind. usually it’s not endurance, it’s speed. the base erodes slow and quiet, but pace disappears fast and loud, you feel it in the first kilometre.

so here’s what i’m bracing for before i even pack a bag.

the base i built, gone quiet

i’ve been running about three times a week for a while now. it’s not a huge base, i’m not about to pretend i’m marathon-ready, but it’s consistent, and consistent is the whole game for me. two weeks off doesn’t erase that overnight. but it definitely puts a dent in it, and i know the first run back is going to remind me exactly how much of a dent.

hiking isn’t running, and that’s fine

we’ll be on our feet a lot in ireland, hills, trails, probably more elevation than my legs are used to. that counts for something. it’s not nothing. but it’s not the same stimulus as running, different muscles fire different ways, and i’m not going to pretend two weeks of hiking is secretly marathon training in disguise. i’ll come back with tired legs and a weird kind of fitness that doesn’t translate directly to pace.

the thing i’m actually dreading: speed

if i’m honest, the base loss doesn’t scare me that much. i know i can rebuild base. what scares me is the speed. that first run back where my legs feel like they’re moving through wet cement and my watch tells me a pace i haven’t seen since week one of getting back into this whole thing. that’s the part that messes with your head, not the tired legs, the number on the watch.

what i’m telling myself now, before it happens

the plan, if you can call it that, is to not fight it. first run back is not a fitness test, it’s just a run. no pace goals, no comparing to pre-trip numbers, just get out the door and let the legs remember what they’re supposed to do.

we’ll see if i actually stick to that once i’m standing there watching my strava numbers crawl.

more soon, once i’m actually back and dealing with it instead of just dreading it.