These guys make it look so easy!
Lucky training week number 7, if only this were true! I learned a lot from this training week especially what not to do before a long run! Oh goodness… more on the drama that unfolded Sunday morning later.
The week began with another off day on Monday. Given it was the long August weekend I was coming off week 6’s great long run, I worked the desk, and experienced a great yin class, then biked a very long way to watch a movie and have a sleep over with Cecilley. What a Sunday! Cecilley and I had a Beach Day Adventure planed for Monday and I was very excited! We biked all day, went for coffee and treats in the morning, then lunch, then picked up supplies to meet a colleague (hi, Alec) for a picnic and a bike ride though the Leslie Spit. It was a pretty epic day off I must say.
Tuesday’s run was surprisingly good given I’d been biking (and drinking… oops) for a whole day the day before. I felt good and could have kept going, which is a nice feeling to end a run on. This hasn’t happened much so when it does I need to acknowledge it! My friend Cait (hi, Cait!) was working the desk at MYD so my evening plan was to meet her for class. We took the 8pm Level 2 and boy was I exhausted. But no wonder. I was still recovering, so I took it easy and did what I could. The sweating part was most important. Ha!
Wednesday I woke up early to practice a little yoga before teaching the Community Class at Downtown. I had hills to run this afternoon and no I wasn’t looking forward to the 5 repeats I had to do at Poplar Plains. Afterward, it was right back at the studio for me to work. I could run with the clinic so I had to run the hills alone. Hills are never fun, but I finally pulled myself together and got it done without too much complaining. Okay, I complained the whole time. All the complaing even kept me from my yoga practice! I practice yoga Wednesday evening and had a really tough time getting out of my head. I wasn’t in it at all. And to make matters worse Thursday wasn’t any better. I had plans to run 6k all day, but for some reason I just could not make myself go. For the entire day I sat around telling myself I would, I would go after lunch, then I would go after getting to Jackie’s house (I was dog sitting for her and Morgan for the evening) then I would go after walking the dogs, then I would go before meeting Cecilley for dinner. Ya… I totally flaked out on running and didn’t go at all. I was tired both mentally and physically. I could feel it in my whole body, I just really didn’t want to run! So I didn’t and I ran late Friday afternoon instead. Mentally I was more determined, but still the run was not as enjoyable as I was hoping for. Eventually it got better and before I knew it 10k was done. So there was a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel.
Saturday was another skip out on the 6k run and go stand up paddleboarding instead. I even got up early and went to the 8am class before my shift, and thank goodness too. This class brought me back. After three solid days of hating marathon training I had to do something fun! Yoga and paddleboarding are excellent fun things.
This face pretty much sums up the week.
Then Sunday came. The day I wanted to die and quit running for good. This run will forever go down in the record books as the worst long run of my entire life! I’m dead serious. Whether it was what I ate the night before or that morning – I believe I didn’t give myself enough time to digest and ate way too much – or a combination of all these things, but whatever it was I ran 26.5k with a bolder in my stomach! I wanted to vomit the entire time or pass this thing out of my body in some form or another. I ran slow, for obvious reasons, but somehow my body kept going. I was running, aside from the fact I was carrying rocks in my gut. I couldn’t believe I was actually moving though. And I had no aches or pain anywhere. But in all seriousness the only thing the saved me Sunday was yin with Julia that night. It was awful.
Thankfully Julie was right there with me. Her and I struggled and complained the whole time. But we did it together. I’m convinced this awful running experience will only make us better runners in the end. Here’s hoping I’m right. Eh, Julie?