Mid Week

You know those mental blocks I've talked about before? Well last week, combine mental blocks with feeling nauseous and non stop exhausted, and that's how my week was.  I didn't run a single day last week.  I spend most of my time alternating from my bed to my couch and even had to call in sick to work (i also passed out that afternoon- so work was definitely not an option).  I think it was a lack of hydration, allergies, poor nutrition and fatigue from actually training the week prior.  I took a lot of time off from consistent training, so my body was kind of confused as to what the heck was going on.  

This week, its a different story! I worked all weekend, and was still feeling tired, so there was no running/working out of any sort happening.  Monday, I got back in action.  I waited for my fiancé to get home from work so we could run together.  I used to really struggle having a running partner- i would feel like i was being judged if I wasn't holding a 6'-6'30" pace the entire time or any of the time, like I had to compete with the person training with me.  Now, I love running with him!!  I think it helps that he has told me 100 times he doesn't care how fast we run, if I'm having a bad day and want to walk, if i want to sprint- he just wants to run with ME. Having him by my side when i feel like giving up motivates me to keep going.  More then half the training runs I've done this month, he has been by my side.  And, all of those runs, I would've given up halfway through if I'd been running alone.  No, I'm not running high mileage right now, but the miles I am running, those are miles that are getting me back into shape, so I have my struggles right now. 

Anyways, that aside, training this week has been moderate, not great, not horrible. I've also gone back to my yoga mat and can feel my core and upper body strengthening as I'm able to hold certain poses (i still cant hold them very long) that i was struggling with even getting. 

Monday's run was 3.00miles at a 9'45"pace.  Total time being 29:14.6 

Mile 1: 9'40" Mile 2: 9'03" Mile 3: 10'32"   Overall, i was happy with this run, now that i look back on it.  Initially, i was upset with myself.  I felt a lot faster then i had been running. I also felt that i held back on myself at time.  Mile 2, i could feel the difference in speed.  I knew i had increased my pace- i thought, having fresh legs after a week off, that my pace was in the 7 min range, but i was wrong.  After finishing the run, i needed to stop at 3 miles and walk the rest of the way home.  I actually had to sit down when we finished because i got dizzy, tunnel vision and was pretty close to passing out.  I had trouble forming thoughts and formulating words. Pretty sure my fiancé was freaked out, but he just had me rest and then held hands with me as we walked back home.  I hadn't hydrated during the day, and again, was low on proper nutrition. 

Tuesday's run was 4.00 miles at a 10'27" pace.  Total time being 41:48.6 

Mile 1: 12'26" Mile 2: 9'29" Mile 3: 10'24" Mile 4: 9'29"

This run had difficulties- which you can see from my mile times.  At 0.7 miles, (yes, not even one mile in) i was walking.  I had my fiancé take a lap (we run around a lake near us- each lap is exactly .50 of a mile) without me so i could clear my head (i also let my watch continue to run-thus the 12min mile of which i stood there for 4 or so of the minutes).  Mile 2 i finally found my pace but entering into mile 3, i needed to walk again.  My legs weren't tired, i wasn't out of breath, i just couldn't get my head on straight.  My fiancé reminded me that i was doing more then the person sitting on their couch and that i could finish this run.  So we did 2 more laps around the lake and finished strong.  I felt my motivation creep back and felt at ease with him running by my side.  I wanted to get in 4 (getting him to 4.5) miles, so once i hit that mark, i decided to stop and walk the remaining half mile home.  Overall, i cant complain.  Its not my best run, the mental games were strong, but i ended my run beating the thoughts in my head that were holding me back. 

Wednesday's run 3.02 miles at a 7'58" pace.  Total time being 24:04.9

Mile 1: 8'32" Mile 2: 8'11" Mile 3: 7'12"  This run had no direction when i started.  Within the first 0.30 miles, i had mentally changed my route 3 times.  I hadn't even left my neighborhood and i had no plan.  I decided to forgo running around the lake and get some hill training, but then changed my mind, deciding to run down the hills instead of up them. I was craving speed! I zig zagged around for about the first half mile trying to figure out what i was doing and once i decided on my route started to visualize the race i have this Saturday.  I have never run this race, but, i know the route by heart as its part of a commute i made daily for over a year and also half of it is part of a route i ran for 3 years. Visualizing this race is what helped me to negative split.  I pretended i was running the finish.  I didn't let the mental games get in my way.  I told myself, run to that tree, then to the next tree, see you feel great don't stop now.  By the time i finished, i was dripping sweat and felt exhausted, but i felt good.  It was a great run for me.  I ran alone, just me and my music, and i was in my zone.  I have a good feeling about the run this weekend.  My goal is not to win- i know- that's a huge change for me- but my goal is run with my fiancé by my side and to hold 7'30"-8'15" minute miles.  Not my fastest, but steady pace and consistent.  I think with the adrenaline and the crowd of people i will be able to zone out, get pumped and just run! I do want to place myself near the starting line so i don't have to battle through people.  I'd rather get passed by runners, then try to battle through a crowd and run a pace slower then the one I had intended for myself.

I have one more run to get in before resting on Friday and racing on Saturday.  This Saturday, i am taking an approach that i have not done before- i will be running a warm up prior to racing. Normally i stretch and do some sprints and a few exercises to get my heart rate up, but i never have run a warm up.  With my knees being in bad shape, I've found that at about 1 mile into my runs, i don't feel the pain.  The beginning of all my runs starts with me limping, so to skip that with this race, ill warm up prior so i can ease in my knees.  Smart thinking, I know. Lol :) 

Until next time: