It's been a rocky couple of weeks of training, and the excuses are both endless and useless. Really, I just need to end the guilt and jump right back into my training plan and forge ahead. It's critical that I not dicker around for another week or two, as we'll be on vacay soon (and I'm pretty sure I'll bomb those two weeks).
This week I managed to do my gym session, some much needed hill work (though it wasn't nearly enough) and two medium-distance runs (7 and 8 miles, respectively). If I manage to nail my 20 miler this Saturday, I'll hit my first 40-mile week. I'm pretty excited about the long run and the weekly mileage.
I'm also pretty excited because I got some new gear (my Zoot attire from the Ironman Expo and a much needed head lamp upgrade. The latter is far from cool or sexy, but is part of my attempt to avoid death while running in the wee hours. I also have some Bioastin to help with the aches and pains and sun exposure. I'm always hesitant to spend so much on supplements, but Bioastin is King in Kona for a reason. My friend's swear by it, and I figure I'll give it another try.
The best running-related news of the week is that I got in two runs last week with my former run partner, C. Before she moved away four years ago, she was my first running partner. She opened my eyes to the joy of running with others (which I'd previously avoided). And because of her, I've met so many other amazing run friends. But of course, no one could ever fill the empty space that she left. And so I'm uber hopeful and thrilled that there may be a chance that she is moving back, and we can be reunited. I'm excited for her to meet the lovely, crazy ladies that I've met over the years, and I'm equally excited to also resume our long, one-on-one joint therapy sessions.
I spent some time today checking to see that our hotel will have a treadmill (it will), which will be critical to my getting in a few runs every few days. Where we're going is hot, and our hotel is apparently not the safest after dark (we don't have a budget for the Westins and Four Seasons of the world). ;-)
Possibly, because of my 'light' training of the last few weeks, my knee seems to have settled down again. I think this weekend's run will give me a much better barometer of how I'll fare now that my mileage is ramping up. I'm a little nervous of course, but I'm almost halfway through my training and am finally starting to feel like this race really might happen. I know I've only done most of the 'easy half', but I have hope!
I don't always feel that way, of course. Today during my hill work, major doubt crept in. I haven't been very consistent about weekly hill work. And even when I do it, I haven't been increasing the difficulty level. So today, I finally tried to gently accelerate the difficulty by running longer intervals up a decent hill, and it HURT. I was barely shuffling, my legs were screaming/burning, the sweat was pouring and I was gasping for air. Mind you, I probably ran a total of 700 feet in elevation over the 1.5 miles. On race day, I'll be running about 4,500 over 31 miles...so that gives you an idea of my current (woefully inadequate) fitness level. I had visions of being pulled off the race course for taking too long, and I was both nervous and ashamed at my crappy efforts. The upside? I momentarily forgot about both emotions at one point. The downside? It was because I spotted a homeless man masturbating in the bushes.
Such is running life. You see many strange things being done, and you do many strange things. It's all part of creating memories and chasing goals, I suppose. I have to remember, I'm 43, married, working, raising a child and I'm not doing this for a living. I do it when I have time, and I'm doing it to get healthy and build confidence. Whether I finish or not, whether my time is fast or slow...it will never change how much better I feel about myself now that I have a goal.
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