I sorta know why. It's not that I doubt my capabilities as a runner (at least not generally). It's not that I have some mental roadblock, or some physical ailment.
My last two runs have gone worse than I expected. Not a ton worse, but enough so that it was a little discouraging. On top of that, the fact that I have to work every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from now until Christmas means that I really won't be able to run more than one of those three days a week, because I spend almost all of my 8 hour shifts on my feet. That, in turn, means that I will need to run three times out of the other four days of the week. That means that no matter what I do, I'll have work one day and running the next day or the day before. I feel like that will either make my runs less effective or my work less efficient.
Once Christmas is here, I'll be fine, I'm almost sure, but I have to maintain until then, and that's what I'm concerned about. I suppose I'll have to renew my YMCA membership, that will probably help matters some. And breaking the news to the immediate family at Thanksgiving dinner will be a shot in the arm (yes, you're reading that right, I haven't told anyone in my family with the sole exception of my brother, so he can cover my alibis for me).
But damn, do I wish I could just figure out a way around this.
Don't get discouraged, some runs are good some are not great, but you'll do fine. I trained for Marine Corps marathon only doing the long run and cross training. Don't get hung up on pace or number of runs per week. As long as you can get in one long run a week you will be able to run a marathon. Keep in mind too that your pace on long runs should be about a minute per mile slower than your normal pace. It's actually better to show up at the start line under trained than to push yourself too hard and get hurt and not make it at all. :) In your down time pick up a few marathon books to help mentally prepare. A LOT of the marathon is more mental than physical. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHang in there. Keep in mind an 18 week training program doesn't even start until mid-December. If you ramp up right after Christmas when your schedule frees up you'll be fine.
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