It's t minus 8 days until my next race, the big Silver Comet Half Marathon. It will be the second time I run this particular race and I love it because the course is beautiful and flat. It's also one of the only races that encourages Halloween costumes, so every minute is entertaining - you never know what you'll see along the way!
Because I've done this race before I decided to try a different training schedule. It hasn't worked out very well - I lost my motivation because I started training too far in advance and I realized something I knew all along - I really don't like running that much. This particular routine had me running 5 times a week and for someone like me who likes to change it up a little it was torture. In the last three weeks of training I switched back to my traditional training routine, which provided some mental respite, but it felt like I was giving up on something - getting faster.
I let that go (kind of) in favor of completing the training and the half in one piece without injury. However, in the past couple of weeks I have been comparing my performance on training runs to how well I had been doing last year. I've been slower, in more discomfort and generally less confident this time around. As recently as yesterday I was already talking myself down, justifying a poor performance in next week's race because I haven't been eating as well, training as well, been as mentally into the race, or feeling as good about my current training plan. I was lowering my expectations (which is usually my answer to being satisfied).
Today I went into my last long run before the race (10 miles) knowing it would be hell. I just wanted to get through it. But, something crazy happened - it felt good! It was the best long run I have had in the last 12 weeks - the only one that felt strong - and the timing couldn't have been better. As I powered through mile 9, I reminded myself that this is what I'd trained for. It didn't matter how weeks 3, 4 or 5 in the plan felt, I'd be READY in week 12. I spent the last mile in shock that I felt so ready for the race after just having told myself 18 hours earlier how crappy it was going to be.
I know I'm not going to break the land speed record next week. I probably won't run a PR, but whatever happens, I'll be ready, because it's what I've been preparing for. It only took me 11 weeks to actually believe the training would work....go figure.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
It's Okay to Stop Running
Looking back at my post history, it's almost been two months since my last post - yikes! I could explain this hiatus in a few different ways related to running, like training schedules (I'm training for a half on the 29th), travel running (I took a trip to Vegas last month) or motivation (I took a week off from training last week).
However, since this is a blog dedicated the whole runner, not just the run, I am going to talk a bit about the big picture of running and why sometimes it's okay not to run. For me, running (and exercise in general) is a part of life. It gives me some stress relief, keeps me energized and helps me stay fit. However, it's just a part of what I do everyday. Sometimes when life gets busy, running helps me refocus and relax. At other times, running is just part of the chaos - another thing to do between the hour I wake up and the hour I go to bed.
While I was taking some time off to "hit the reset button" on my running mindset, I had a series of conversations that reminded me that sometimes life just gets in the way of our plans. My absence from the blogosphere can be attributed to some happenings in my life - some travel and some challenges. But taking time away from the blog helped me realize that it's not all about "the run" it's about enjoying the view.
My parents (my whole family, really) are facing some health challenges. As they've developed, I was really concerned that through the process my dad continue to run. I wanted to make sure he was still making time to do what he loves. As time went on and he'd has less time to run and compete, I got nervous that he was giving up on something that had been a part of his life for so long and I didn't know what do to. But, I learned in a conversation with a friend that I needed to shift my perspective to look at the whole picture. When my dad looks back on this time, he's not going to look at it as all of the running he's missed, he's going to look at it as more time he's spent with my mother and my family. No race or practice run will ever mean as much. Even if he never went back to running as much as he has in the past, it only means a new normal has been reached and that's okay. Things don't have to be how they've always been to be good.
When I applied that realization to my own situation, when I look back on this year, I am not going to remember the two months I went without blogging or the week I went without running. I'll remember it as a year of unexpected changes, some pleasant, some not. I'll remember that life happened and I was glad for it. Sure, I spent some time running in 2011 and I have some fantastic memories of running in the desert, on the beach and on the streets of New Orleans and while running might be a thread that runs through the last few years of my life, other threads are much thicker, stronger. It's okay to stop running.
However, since this is a blog dedicated the whole runner, not just the run, I am going to talk a bit about the big picture of running and why sometimes it's okay not to run. For me, running (and exercise in general) is a part of life. It gives me some stress relief, keeps me energized and helps me stay fit. However, it's just a part of what I do everyday. Sometimes when life gets busy, running helps me refocus and relax. At other times, running is just part of the chaos - another thing to do between the hour I wake up and the hour I go to bed.
While I was taking some time off to "hit the reset button" on my running mindset, I had a series of conversations that reminded me that sometimes life just gets in the way of our plans. My absence from the blogosphere can be attributed to some happenings in my life - some travel and some challenges. But taking time away from the blog helped me realize that it's not all about "the run" it's about enjoying the view.
My parents (my whole family, really) are facing some health challenges. As they've developed, I was really concerned that through the process my dad continue to run. I wanted to make sure he was still making time to do what he loves. As time went on and he'd has less time to run and compete, I got nervous that he was giving up on something that had been a part of his life for so long and I didn't know what do to. But, I learned in a conversation with a friend that I needed to shift my perspective to look at the whole picture. When my dad looks back on this time, he's not going to look at it as all of the running he's missed, he's going to look at it as more time he's spent with my mother and my family. No race or practice run will ever mean as much. Even if he never went back to running as much as he has in the past, it only means a new normal has been reached and that's okay. Things don't have to be how they've always been to be good.
When I applied that realization to my own situation, when I look back on this year, I am not going to remember the two months I went without blogging or the week I went without running. I'll remember it as a year of unexpected changes, some pleasant, some not. I'll remember that life happened and I was glad for it. Sure, I spent some time running in 2011 and I have some fantastic memories of running in the desert, on the beach and on the streets of New Orleans and while running might be a thread that runs through the last few years of my life, other threads are much thicker, stronger. It's okay to stop running.
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