If there is one thing this week has made me thankful for it is my health! Whatever sickness came through last week has really knocked me out. I am finally feeling a bit more like myself now, but I really didn’t see that one coming!
I went back to work on Monday but the entire day I felt like I was in a fog. My brain was 100% there and I spent most of the day double checking all my work to make sure I didn’t make any glaring mistakes. I think we are in the all clear though and each day I have gotten a little bit better.
I did my first workout back on Wednesday (more to come on that in my running recap Sunday) but I’m glad that my body is feeling like me again. I am actually looking forward to my long run this weekend because after missing last week’s I really crave it.
As I’m preparing for Boston, even with the goal of going out and having fun, I’m still fighting some of the same mental battles I do during a really hard training cycle. To be honest, I’ve even been having some extra little voices coming in, so I thought I’d open up and share them with you. The main reason I do this is not to make me seem crazy, though it’s okay if you think I am, but to let you know that it’s completely normal to have that little voice in your head that often puts in negative thoughts.
Here are some of the negative voices that have been leaking their way in lately.
Taking this time off will just make me slower and regress from my goals.
It’s true that I’m probably not going to become increasingly faster during this cycle. Yes, when I enter another hard training season it’s going to hurt, but that’s how it’s supposed to feel isn’t it? The truth is I need this time off, whether I want to admit it or not.
I’m training to not lose any speed while also not really improving on it drastically either. The goal is to maintain my current fitness so that when I’m able to jump into my next goal, I’m starting from the same spot. It’s still hard and isn’t easy, especially with the decrease in miles, but I just remind myself how important this will be for my future running goals.
You’ll never be able to complete Boston with this drastic of a mileage reduction.
Ok, so it’s not a huge reduction in mileage but compared to my last training cycle is about 10-12 miles per week less. It feels a lot larger than that thinks to my desire to continually run more miles than I need.
This is good for me – mentally and physically. It is teaching me to be at peace no matter what type of training program I am. It is teaching me that running isn’t always about ”running all the miles”, and that we should celebrate and enjoy each phase.
Look at all these amazing ladies running tons of fast miles for Boston.
I’ll be honest I miss the amazing feeling of accomplishment after those hard effort tempo runs and workouts. It’s the endorphins, the feeling that you just did something you never thought you could. It’s finishing off a hard training week and feeling like you accomplished something big. I do miss those weeks.
However, when I find myself falling back into the trap of comparing myself on social media I remind myself that I’ll be back there, and that everyone at some point has to give themselves a break. I’m sure there are a lucky few whose body bounces right back (my husband), but we are blessed in our own unique ways. I’ll be back their training hard for now – I’ll be content with where I’m at.
What do you have to celebrate when finishing Boston without a PR!?
That I’m running the Boston Marathon! If you had asked me 2-3 years ago if I’d ever be running the Boston Marathon I would have either responded with “I wish” or “I highly doubt it.” It was always a dream but I never believed in myself enough to reach for it.
I’ve been to Boston 4-5 times to watch my husband run, we got engage at the end of the Boston Marathon, and it was always my dream to run it. After working my tail off to get there, I will soak up every minute and celebrate the accomplishment of finally making it there!
I do look forward to racing it hopefully in 2017, but for this year it is an accomplishment just to be there! All those early mornings, all those hard workouts, everything culminates into this one amazing experience. Plus, anytime you cross the finish line of a marathon is worth celebrating!
Some of these may sound silly, but I promise you at some point during the past several weeks and even when trying to make my decision on how to approach Boston each one of these went through my head. It’s hard sometimes to not let negative self-talk, negative talk from those around you, or even the lure of social media comparison put a damper on your goals. Focus on your task at hand, the rest will follow!
Do you ever find yourself talking negatively about your goals?
When is your next race?
As cliche as it sounds every body is different- and running is a long-term sport for decades, not necessarily a 12-16 week training cycle. You have so much to celebrate. You BQed and are able to run Boston and that means a lot. Lots of people did not get in, even if they did qualify, or they get injured and cannot run the race at all. Plus, you had a nice half marathon PR a few weeks ago. I would say that if it bothers you, just stay off social media altogether and do what is right for you and your training.
To be able to run Boston ‘easy’ is way out of reach for some! Enjoy the experience and be proud of how far you have come! It is so important to let your body rest when you need to, and it is very easy to get stuck in the ‘I MUST PR EVERY SINGLE TIME’ trap. But when we do that, it is also simple to let it become a job, and then we lose our joy of running. Really, what is the point if we don’t enjoy it?? If we intend to keep running a part of our lives until we’re old, (which I hope I can!) it’s important to pace yourself both in racing and in training. You can make the analogy to the bigger picture. We have ‘easy’ runs in our training programs, why not include entire ‘easier’ training phases? Maintenance is just as important as improvement! At some point we will improve as much as we’re going to, and when our times start to slow down as we age, we don’t want to be trying to find the ‘joy of running’ then. Find it now, and hold it forever. It’ll make your PR’s when you do get them that much more meaningful.
I found your blog by searching for runners with hip injuries. I think it was you or your husband that was dealing with it. Just by reading through your blog for a few days I am AMAZED how far you have come. Really. Running as many miles as you do and sticking with it, even when things get tough is what makes you who you are! I admire that.
I am the queen of negative self talk. Not having been able to run in several months due to very stubborn hip bursitis has been incredibly difficult. My way of dealing has been to focus on what I can do, which is elliptical, bike, strength training and my PT exercises – lol!
I actually like your approach to just run the race and not race it. I don’t fare well under pressure and it makes sense to me.
Love your blog and your sheer honesty. I can more than relate. 🙂