I have an incredible ability to to shift from high motivation levels to a complete lack of motivation in the blink of an eye.\u00a0 For the last 2 weeks I have been battling with my inner “demons”.\u00a0 Should I sleep or should I run? Should I go home and hang out with my children\u00a0(who I miss) or should I go run 10 miles?\u00a0 Sometimes I get sick of the battle.\u00a0\u00a0 That’s why I signed up for the marathon, so I would stay motivated.\u00a0 Well that’s not working too well.<\/p>\n
\u00a0I am late on my weekly blog post because I haven’t been running as much as I should.\u00a0 I am not even sure I enjoy training as much as I feel the need to run to\u00a0maintain my identity.\u00a0 Ugh….why did I\u00a0sign up for this race?\u00a0 Obviously I need to reevaluate my\u00a0reasons for continuing to punish myself with\u00a0intense training., but now is not the time I have a marathon to get ready for…so bring on the pep talk folks because I am not feeling it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Another week (or 2)\u00a0in the books.\u00a0 Unlike the last few weeks this week I had my first setback.\u00a0 I have yet to figure out the\u00a0psychological side of running.\u00a0 I know (and preach) moderation and listening to your body but sometimes there is more to it than that.\u00a0\u00a0 Listening to your body means making sure you are not pushing yourself too hard too often.\u00a0 What if you are feeling great every day and the effort feels easy?\u00a0 Even if you feel fantastic on your runs sometimes you need to force yourself to back off.\u00a0\u00a0 Even with all of the cross training I was burning the candle at both ends.\u00a0\u00a0I\u00a0will turn this around.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Monday<\/strong>:\u00a0 Cross Training 30 minutes on Spinning Bike followed by 2 x full body circuit at gym.\u00a0 Sore from yesterday’s run.<\/p>\n \u00a0Tuesday<\/strong>:\u00a0 10 miles @ 7:03 per mile.\u00a0 Looked at the watch at mile 1 and it read 7:17. At this point I knew I was going to throw down against the clock.\u00a0 I blasted over the hills relaxed and floated through Granby… I checked my watch at 8 miles and it wasn’t any faster than last week (the watch must be broken). I finished up and checked my time and it was not any faster than the last time I ran it, but the effort was much greater….hmmmmmm<\/p>\n \u00a0Wednesday- Saturday<\/strong>: you guessed it, I am sick\u00a0. No Cross training or running. I am exhausted (go figure).\u00a0 Here is the lesson for all of you kids out there.\u00a0 Keep your training in check.\u00a0I ran very hard for about 10 straight runs and it caught up to me.\u00a0 Training is about moderation and staying well within your “zone”.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Look I missed 4 days of training because I wanted to be a workout hero…what an idiot.<\/p>\n \u00a0Sunday:<\/strong>\u00a0 15-16 miles @ 8:00 min pace. Ran on the trails so the distance (and pace) is off.\u00a0 The goal was 2 hours and I got it.\u00a0 Felt fantastic until 1:51 (again!@#$$<\/a>).\u00a0 Of course I had nothing to eat.\u00a0 I really need to start fueling for the runs that will be extended in the coming weeks.\u00a0 Stay smart and healthy.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Monday<\/strong>:<\/em>\u00a0 5.5 miles easy with B. Walsh. Felt fine.<\/p>\n \u00a0Tuesday<\/strong>:\u00a0 Cross Training 30 minutes on the bike followed by weight training (legs, core). Felt tired (again).<\/p>\n \u00a0Friday :<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you for good friends.\u00a0 Timmy called me last night and noticed my training was slipping.\u00a0 He knocked on my door at 6:10 AM and we rocked a 9.5-10.0 mile run.(7:30 per mile) \u00a0 Tim’s great grandfather wrote the Ellery Queen novels…pretty amazing … http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ellery_Queen<\/a>.\u00a0 Felt good today but only\u00a0because of the great company and conversation.<\/p>\n Saturday<\/strong>: 3 miles of easy jogging just to get ready for tomorrow’s long run.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sunday<\/strong>:\u00a0 17 miles in\u00a0 2hours 8 minutes.\u00a0 Today I ate breakfast and took a Cliff Gel at 12 miles.\u00a0 The wheels fell of at about 15.5 miles. I was dying.\u00a0 This was\u00a0 a wake up call for me, I need to start taking training seriously (and run more) if I want to feel good during this race.\u00a0\u00a0 Note to self 17 miles is far and not that enjoyable…oh and by the you have to run 9 mor emiles for the race.\u00a0<\/p>\n