So another month of training is under my belt. I ran a total of 80 km's for the month of April. That may not sound like a lot to some people but in March I ran a total of 70km's so I am increasing that's for sure. This month I'll be running 120km so that will be a huge increase. Should be fun! LOL
While I am out running I have lots of time to think and try to silence the nagging things that go on in my head. I'd say voices but then you'd think I was crazy. lol You see, when I used to run before it was much easier for me. I was much lighter, and didn't have arthritis in my hips and knees and I was younger as well. I am a very big believer, for myself, that I have to better my time or at least stay the same as my last run or I feel like I'm not advancing. When I say it out loud I know it's crazy and I would never make my clients feel this way. I'd tell them it's all about getting off the couch and doing what many people won't/can't do. The time is not important and to focus on the fact you are actually doing it. When I get inside my head all this "common sense" talk goes away but it is getting slightly better on many of my runs. I'm trying to focus on putting each foot forward and the km's and time will take care of itself.
I'm also a big person for routine as has been pointed out to me many times. Sometimes routines have to be broken and it throws things off for me. Last week, my last 10k had to be run on not only on a different day but a different time as well. Oh no, this wasn't going to go well for me. I played mind games with myself the whole morning. My two clients that I had that morning gave me a taste of my own medicine saying "you'd tell us to suck it up and to just do it" so I did exactly that. I already had all the excuses in my head as to why it was going to suck but I would do it anyway. My first km in my legs hurt, my hip hurt and how the hell would I finish a 10k if I was already hurting. Hmmm....maybe I would push through to a 5k and be done with it. I introduced a few hills the week before and as all these things are going through my head I realized I was on my second hill and I wasn't dying. But wait, where did the first hill go, I don't remember running it. But, since I had to do one to get to the other I clearly did it. lol Ok, I just may have this! Maybe this run won't be the one that kills me. I continued on as usual. However, I forced myself to lean a bit forward (which is unnatural for me) and to look up every now and then. When I did this I could feel my body moving forward slightly faster and with a little more ease. My God, I may be on to something here. I tried to focus on this for the rest of my run and it must have worked, I finished my run almost 2 mins faster then any of my other 10k runs since I started last month. I did encounter a bit of wind and for the most part it wasn't a big problem but at one point late in the run I must have been tired, I did turn the corner and was met with the same wind that greeted me at least 3 other times and I yelled out "fuck" in frustration. As soon as I did it I started to laugh and looked around to see if anyone was near me and thank God there wasn't. So nobody thought I was some strange mad women who should be committed, just little ol' me with something to keep me smiling through the rest of the run. I must say by keeping my head up I got to see more dogs and there was one specific lab retriever who kept nudging my hand with his/her nose every time I ran by which in some strange way gave me motivation. It was a pretty good run that I was happy with.
On Wed or Thursday I start with my 12k's runs and they scare me a bit, knowing how hard 10k's were. 12k runs are not something I did on a normal basis even when I ran before. If I remember correctly it was a 5k, a longer run, and a trip to the track as well. But I was scared for the 10k too and I did them. I'm assuming my body will hurt a bit more and recovery time may take a bit longer but that's ok. I'm normally pretty sore the night of the long run and then not too bad the next day so we'll see what happens this week. Adding the extra k on to my shorter runs may cause for a bit more hurt.
This upcoming month is also race day for me. I haven't registered for the 10k in the Bluenose yet but I'm pretty sure, as long as nothing happens, I will be registering shortly. I think putting the fear of this race behind me will help. The last time I ran this race I was injured and it was tougher then tough for me. Going across the bridge makes for a beautiful run though (once you are at the top of the bridge...lol) I'm hoping for no injuries this time and a huge difference will be this time I'll have Frank at the finish line waiting for me, and knowing that will and does make all the difference. Hey, I may even have Payton there as well!! :)
So, here's to my new training schedule of 6k,6k, and 12k's every week for the month. Fun times for sure!!
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