Welp…I’m in the car blogging from my phone. How technologically advanced of me right? Well, I’ve decided that its time for me to get serious about training. In fact I made that decision last Sunday when I headed out for what would be my first long run in 6 months.
I’ve made several running friends since moving to our new community. In fact I’ve convinced 2 people to sign up for the marathon I’m running in February! However, since I have been struggling with motivation, I have been considering switching from the full to the half. Last weekend I was sharing my discouragement with my running buddies and they both (together and seperately) refused to let me wriggle my way out of my commitment. Like loudy. Persuasively.
Internally I decided that unless I could run 10 miles on Sunday, I would have to give up my hopes of running a full marathon. Then, Saturday night I spent some time working on my training schedule and saw that I had originally planned on running 13 that week. Then I decided that I might as well give it a go …and if I couldn’t run 13, I’d be happy with 10.
I set my garmin for 13 and started out. It was a brutal run. Slow. Ugly. It was 80 degrees and sunny. I carried water and some gels that weren’t Gu’s. My stomach wasn’t happy. My legs weren’t happy. But, I made it. 13 miles on sheer determination. It has been a long time since I’ve been able to “will” myself to run. I feel like I’ve been sitting around waiting to feel like running and I’ve forgotten that I have the choice.
Since my run last Sunday I have felt a switch come on (finally). I feel ready to tackle my training, not just suffer through it. I’m ready to find ways to balance my new life with my desire to run. I’m ready to face my lost fitness and slowly build it back up. In that spirit, here are this weeks workouts:
Sunday–13 miles
Monday–5 miles
Tuesday–rest/travel
Wednesday–3
Thursday–11 miles (5 at a race)
Friday–rest
Total Mileage: 32 miles
Tomorrow I am running 15. Should be nice and painful. Good times!
Hey stranger! Glad to hear you’ve turned a corner with training. I struggled mightily as I prepared for Philly until the last 4-5 weeks, when everything seemed to come together. It resulted in the most fun I’ve ever had during a marathon and a 9:00 PR, so hopefully the same will hold true for you!
hooray for getting your mojo back!
I just cut my mileage right down and changed how I train, and it’s worked like a charm – I now run fewer miles, faster, and it’s really helped me. I just realised while reading your post that my weekly mileage is not much more than your long run – I did 17 last week, but now my training pace is over a minute a mile faster than my old race pace was!
Way to get out there and get it done!! That mental determination can carry you a long way while your legs catch up to the program.
Sounds like you are doing well! I am happy for you! That’s great that you like your job. It’s so important because we spend so much time at our jobs!
Congratulations!!! Good job
“The Dawn!” How the heck are we just figuring this out? Actually, to our benefit, we haven’t really hung out but about two times, and one of those was standing in the world’s largest consignment shop. I love your blog! I need to get some pointers from the pro on how you do some of the cool tricks you’ve got going on.
Way to go on cranking out the miles this week! I know the feeling of enjoying vs. suffering through it. Good work! I’m glad you were convinced to run the full instead of the half. You’ll do great and be proud when you’re done. Good for you!
Have a great week running, and enjoy that treadmill!