Ugh. That is about all I can say about weeks 2 and 3 of half marathon training. Ugh.
Week 2 wasn’t THAT bad. I did my two weekday runs but skipped my “long” weekend run because I was just having way too much fun at the Omni with Laura for my belated birthday staycation. We did hit up the fitness center while we were there so I could get the second short run in, so at least I felt okay about that.
Week 3, well, it sucked. I REALLY wasn’t feeling it so I didn’t do my first weekday run until Wednesday. I went to the gym and it took everything I had (and then some) just to get through the 30 minutes on the treadmill. Unfortunately that was my ONLY run last week. I woke up Thursday morning with a horrible summer cold that kept me out of commission for the rest of the week. I was pissed. Three weeks in and my training schedule is already jacked up?!
So today I decided that I wasn’t going to give up. Every other time I’ve tried to stick with a training plan I’ve given up a couple weeks in because it just didn’t fit. I liked my current plan because the weekday runs were time based and the weekend runs were distance based… or so I thought. Every time I got on that treadmill at the gym and started thinking that I had to be there for 30 minutes I just wanted to cry. I realized that distance based really was what I needed. Time based training just messes with my head too much.
Instead of giving up, I changed it up. I took the training schedule I had and redid the first couple of weeks so that ALL the runs, long or short, were distance based. I have to get my self-confidence back. I have to remind myself that I can run a mile. Then I can run 3 miles. Then 6, then 13.1. I have to remind my body that it can do this!
So today I went to the gym and I ran 1 mile. Yep, just a mile. But I got through it and I didn’t want to cry. I added an extra mile to this weeks schedule in hopes of gaining some momentum by running three days in a row. Back when I first started running I would go to the gym 4-5 days a weeks and run, at least a mile. If I ran more that was great but I had to do at least 1 mile. I was able to do it and I plan on doing it again.
I’ve got 11 weeks until my next half marathon and I plan on kicking its sorry butt!
