I was doing well a week up to the Ronald McDonald 1/2 marathon following the Another Mother Runner "own it" 1/2 marathon plan. The week before the race I was suppose to run 13 miles and my "coach" reminded me that doing 13 miles the week before a 1/2 was probably not going to help me run the race well. So I adjusted my training schedule. Then the week after the race I was physically fatigued from pushing it on the hills and finishing strong at the 1/2. So I adjusted that week's schedule. I was suppose to run I think 10 miles the following weekend and instead I did- 6 miles and 3 miles. The following week I was just still physically fatigued and letting a little mental fatigue in and so adjusted that week also and did 4.3, 4, 4.25 and 8. My long run that week was suppose to be 13. Then the following week I ran 6, 4, and 10- again my long run that week was suppose to be 15 (that's why they call it the "own it" plan, most race plans don't have you run longer than your race distance for the longest training run- but this one does and I unfortunately didn't get it done). Then the last week in May was the most pitiful- I just was taken over by the mental fatigue monster- I ran 4.3, 2.62, 4, and 11. The 2.62 mile run was a low point for me- I can't remember the last time I went out to run and couldn't at least do 3 miles. SO....
then I received a couple of wake up calls. The first came when I was listening to a Podcast about running and the person writing in her question to the Another Mother Runner ladies asked: Can I adjust my speed schedule so that I'm still doing speed work, but not doing the same amount of intervals? Basically she wanted to shorten up the workout and not do the length of speed work recommended. The Another Mother Runners basically said "No"- if you want to "own it" you have to "do it". I'm not paraphrasing perfectly, but that was the jest of it. Then a day or two later I received a blog reminder that was titled "Do The Work" and had this lovely graphic...
So Why or Why do I share all these mundane details with you- well it holds me accountable and also admits that even if you have a training plan/schedule it is really up to you to be honest and uphold it. If I don't race a great race on the 23rd I can look back at May and realize the long runs I didn't get done and the speed work/intervals I skipped out on due to physical/mental fatigue. That said- I also think that I needed a little break and that is why I ran a 2.62 miler and didn't log all the long runs on the weekend. It is a balancing game- staying sane and staying in training mode. We'll see how this all pans out Sunday June 23rd. Happy Running/Happy Living!
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