I’m at that point in training where I’m just ready for it to be over. My legs are tired. My body is tired. I’m tired of feeling like I have to run.
I mean, I do enjoy running. Really, I do. But the pressure to complete a (super long) long run and a certain number of miles each week has been draining.
Yes, I know. I signed up for this. I wanted this. I chose my training schedule. I could have chosen an easier one, but wanted the challenge.
And a challenge, I got.
My colleague was sick a couple of weeks ago, so of course I was obsessively using hand sanitizer and wiping everything in our office down with Lysol wipes. He got better, and I thought I was in the clear.
But early last week, all the signs were there: scratchy throat, fatigue, weakness… and then by mid-week, I knew I was doomed. I was coughing and sneezing, and was just a mess.
I was definitely sick.
Week 14 of training went down the drain.
One of the perks of running long distance races is the medals. I’ve collected some cool ones in the past year and a half, when I started the 50 states challenge. So far, my favorites include the Hottest Half medal (Dallas, Texas) because it doubles as a beer opener, and the Philly Love Run medal (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) because it’s pretty.
One of our summer interns told me she could never do a marathon because she couldn’t be alone with her thoughts for that long.
I’ll admit, being alone with your thoughts during a long run can be tough. It’s hard not to focus on the pain, the boredom, and the many miles you have left.
It took me a while, but now I actually do enjoy being alone with my thoughts. I enjoy the time to think about whatever I want, to focus on whatever I want, and to zone out if I want (which, during long runs, is ideal).
But it can still be really tough. I completed my first 20-miler of this training season on Saturday. And I’m not going to lie: I hated every single minute of that run.
I wish I could say last week’s training rocked, but it didn’t, so I can’t.
It was another busy week—I spent part of it at a conference in Virginia, and had a couple of other things going on. But, I am proud to share that I finally tried SoulCycle (my x-training activity for the week). I’ve never done a spin class, and I hardly ever bike (though I wish I could more often, but that would maybe require getting a bike…), so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Sometimes you have great weeks, where you’re just a running rock star—you’re hitting your weekly mileage goals and you feel great. And other weeks, training is just a bust. This past week was the latter. I didn’t even come close to hitting my 45-mile target. And that 19-mile long run I was supposed to do on Saturday? Ha.
I was swamped at work last week, had other obligations over the weekend, and running just didn’t happen.
It was time. I finally added strength training into my marathon training plan.
I bought a couple of 3-pound dumb bells earlier this month. My sister took one look at them and cracked up.
Her: Three pounds?! What’s that going to do??
Me: They will do a lot when what you’ve been lifting was nothing! … Plus, I can put them together to make six pounds!
Her: *laughs* Ok, sure.
(more…)
Ever heard of #RunChat? It’s a Twitter chat that takes place Sunday nights, covering various topics related to running.
I almost missed it last night because I tried to go to bed early. Good thing I couldn’t sleep. There were some great tips on training that I would have missed (note to non-Tweeters: technically, you can always read a Twitter chat later, but what you would miss is the real-time conversation with others).
Following are some of my favorites tips from last night’s chat.
#MotivationMonday: “A beautiful day begins with a beautiful mindset. When you wake up, take a second to think about what a privilege it is to simply be alive. The moment you start acting like life is a blessing, it will start to feel like one.”
I am now a month into training. I am tired and sore. And some days, I’m not really sure if I’ve improved much.
Running the States 