Probably if you are a devotee of any sport, you have had good times and bad times. Maybe your training plans got derailed at some point. Maybe life intervened. Maybe you were injured.
I have to say that other than my running fallow period last spring, I really have been lucky for the most part. Usually, I don't get sick very often. I have yet to be injured in any significant way (I did once have the blackened toenail thing). Generally, I am pretty consistent with my training plans.
Except for the past month.
The past month was sick and tired and not good. If I had to sum it up, I think the one word that I would use is frustrating. And now that I am trying to get back in the swing of things, I feel like I am starting from scratch. Nothing feels right. My abs have seemingly disappeared. My legs appear to get all of 2 centimeters off the ground when I run. I feel like I have gained 800 pounds in the last month. That's right. I went from being somewhat zaftig to adding the weight of a grizzly bear, all between Thanksgiving and now. This is not an exaggeration. Okay, perhaps it's more like 5-10 pounds.
Grizzly or no, getting back into the swing of things is proving difficult. However, I am gradually getting back into the swing of things. Which is the point. Because no matter how much I whine about my running, it's weird how the whining seems to have little to no effect. Somehow, though, the training works.
Today was speedwork. I'm not going to lie: I was worried. It was similar to what I did last time around, mostly because I am basically using the same plan as last time around. However, there was a little less and more at the slower of the two speeds (10:30 mile split versus 10:00 mile split). It's still somewhat early in this training plan. I decided to go to the treadmill, since it's easier to ensure that you stay at pace, I find, when a treadmill is involved.
Also, I wore my Half Fanatics singlet, which arrived last week. On the one hand, I was a bit embarrassed since I feel like I am the size of a grizzly bear plus a zaftig person and I don't think I look like someone who ran an impressive, singlet-deserving number of half-marathons. On the other hand, I was all like, 'I'VE RUN AN IMPRESSIVE NUMBER OF HALF-MARATHONS AND HAVE THE SINGLET TO PROVE IT!' This mindset did help a bit. Although I have to say that getting through tonight's workout was less difficult than I thought it would be.
And that is the point: workouts are probably not as bad as I am anticipating. Even if they are, they will be over soon. And the only way ever to get better at them is to keep on training.
I would give myself encouragement by saying something like there is only one half to go, except that I got talked in to signing up for another half at the end of June. So maybe I am worthy of this singlet after all.
Oh, the other thing that I am doing is cross-training. I found a not-too-hard plan thanks to Runner's World that I can do in the comfort of my home. Except that skipping and ab-work is involved, neither of which are particularly comfortable. Skipping is really hard! How did I not notice this when I was a kid?
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