Week 9 was not my best week of training. It's Sunday night and I'm trying to not beat myself up about it as I write out this recap.
Monday I started off with a bang and knocked out 10 miles before work. On a roll!
Tuesday through Sunday I ran zero miles. Ugh. I was struggling with exhaustion and just could not sleep enough hours. It finally dawned on me during the weekend that it seemed similar to the Vitamin D deficiency I'd struggled with before. For some reason I just assumed I was getting enough Vitamin D from the SUN in the SUMMER to not need a vitamin supplement, but I guess I'd be wrong. I took my normal dosage Friday and Saturday and already felt dramatically better on Sunday.
But not good enough for a run, I guess. I had a REALLY RANDOM ache in my right ankle Friday night that reared its head again Sunday morning. Like I said, i haven't ran all week, and it didn't hurt at all on Monday, so it's probably nothing, but super cautious, always injured Jerbear was super cautious so as to not be injured and scrapped the run. UGH.
Sunday I was able to meet my running buddy Jenn for a long leisurely ride to get my heart pumpin' a bit.
Next up is B Goal Race Week, so I hope this week is a bit stronger, mentally and physically!
I had the following set as a separate post, but I think it makes the most sense to include it for this week's recap, as it's what I'm feeling this week and last. I often use this blog as a diary to go back and reflect on training, so it may be helpful to have this included. We'll see.
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After my 3k XC race, I was on runner's cloud 9. I performed better than I was expecting and the race and racing atmosphere left me wanting to go out and run all the miles. As races typically do. It also started to give me some of my racing confidence back. That I can fight in a race a bit. That not all my speed is dead. That my training is showing improvement.
And then a few missed runs crop up and I completely lost my mental game.
Whoa.
Ok then.
Jenn was giving me a text message pep talk about my upcoming marathon (I screenshot the whole convo to look back on during moments of need and pre-race when I'm freaking the eff out, as I do) and how she just knew that I was going to run sub 4. And I was like, cool, I don't know that. But I'm glad you do.
But it was just awesome to have that sort of assurance from someone who used to be the same exact g.d. speed as me and then went bonkers and shattered our PRs by like 30 minutes or something ridiculous like that. So yeah, I'll listen to her.
Because the marathon is such a weird beast. You can run, and analyze race predictors, and race and further analyze race predictors, but it's just SO HARD to know what your body is ready to tackle when you toe the line of 26.2. There have been times I was sure I'd finish the race with a 3 at the start of my time, but I never have.
So right now I'm in the boat where I feel confident that I will run a PR this October. 4:12 will no longer be my best marathon time. Will that time start with a 3? I honestly don't know, and I still have some hard work to put in before I'll join forces with Jenn in believing her. But my god, is it nice to have someone believe in you and your dreams!
Uh, I really don't have any earth shattering words of wisdom to block out the negative thoughts, I just think back to a quote I repeated often while training for my 100 mile mtb race. A negative mind will never give you a positive life.
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