Marathon Training Update

Two weeks have passed since I last wrote an update on my marathon training. Week three went well but ended on a low note following my long run that spilled over into week four.

My long run last Sunday (a week ago today) was 8 miles. I decided to do a different route that incorporated my favourite trail along the river and then finish on the Top Dump Road (I did the lower dump road the week prior). As I was running out on the top road I felt really sluggish. It took everything I had to keep going when all I wanted to do was turn around. Running is definitely as much a mental sport as it is physical and it was one of the tougher runs I have had in a long time.

By the time I got to my turn around point I felt totally depleted. I ate my shot bloks, drank some water, and started to make my way back home.

That’s when I realized why I was feeling so sluggish on the way out: I had been running on a road with a steady incline the entire way.

Duh.

I have walked and ran this road many, many times and knew this to be the case but for some reason it left my brain while I was running. I felt better on the way home now that I was running a steady downhill but it was still a mental struggle to keep going.

It was cold, my water froze again, and by the time I arrived home I just wanted to hop in a hot shower. After that, things went even more downhill. I crawled on the couch, hair wrapped in a towel, and proceeded to fall asleep for the next few hours. I felt totally and utterly drained.

I felt a lot better after my nap and a snack and initially wrote it off. Turns out it was actually the beginnings of a chest cold.

Instead of listening to my body I charged ahead.

I rearranged my training plan for the week because I was watching two other kids, so instead of taking Monday off I ran another 6 miles. Then on Tuesday I ran 3.5 more miles. Come Wednesday I was ready for a rest and I haven’t run a single step since Tuesday.

I’m not going to lie. I’m pissed off that I couldn’t muster up the energy to finish my plan this week. I’m pissed off that instead of hopping on the treadmill once the kids were in bed I flopped on the couch and fell asleep watching How I Met Your Mother on Netflix.

I’ve had no energy, both physical and mental, which is why I haven’t blogged since Tuesday either.

Add on top of this the fact that my husband was away at a hockey tournament since Thursday (he just got back Sunday afternoon) and it was easy to put running on the back burner.

Physically I accepted the rest but mentally it was a harder pill to swallow.

I started to convince myself that my hopes of running a marathon were shot all because I missed a few runs.

How silly of me.

My body, and brain, needed a break.

Monday marks the start of a new week and now that the sickness is (almost) behind me I am ready to tackle it head on. I have to rearrange my schedule again this week but it’s no big deal. That’s the beauty of being a mother runner (or a runner in general); sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

And even though I didn’t run much this week, I still fit in some activity thanks to the online video classes over at FitnessGlo. My abs haven’t been this sore in a long time, and I kind of love it.