Sounds like you're getting stronger and more confident. Keep up the great work.

That feeling when coach Billy pays you a high compliment!!! Thanks!!!!!!!

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Training Update Week 41!
Total miles ran
–5.6
Month to date – 5.6
Year to date –260.33
Miles on shoes – 78.9

Planned work outs:


Monday - 2 miles @ 15/30 sec @ 16:00/18:00 paces
Wednesday - 2.5 miles @ 15/30 sec @ 16:00/18:00 paces
Friday - 0.5 mile @ Easy + 2.5 mile @ 90/30 sec @ 14:45/18:00 paces + 0.5 mile @ Easy
Sunday - Desmond T. Doss 5k


Things I learned this week –

Tighten my shoe pom poms next time!!!

I really like running in the cold!:cold: I think the heat may have played it's role in my Summer mishaps. :sunny:

Other Updates that seem important


Hurricane Michael had some things to say about my plan and all my back up plans! Busch Gardens was fun and maybe it wasn’t the worst thing in the world that I didn’t run a whole bunch this week. I did 20,000 steps on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.. that’s a lot before race day – I have no idea how I’m going to handle runDisney when I get there!

Days till next race – 26 days until the :figment:Richmond Half Marathon! :figment:AKA America’s friendliest race! AKA HOLY $@*%!!

:darth:Plan for week 42: BTW – I’ve had a big weekend an will not be running today. This plan has been shifted down a little bit. (OG had me running Monday, Wed and Friday)

Tuesday – 3.5 miles at easy
Thursday – 0.5 miles at easy – 2.5 miles at HM pace – 1 mile easy
Saturday – 5 miles at easy
 
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Update- I didn’t run yesterday. I think that I just had a very long weekend and I was getting settled back into my work groove and I was just exhausted. So I decided to just skip that 3.5 mile run and get back on track today with the 4 miles.

Today’s run was one of the most infuriating runs to date. I felt great, the weather was perfect and my race pace miles felt easier than they ever have!! I feel like I could have kept up that pace for at least 5 more miles!! So why so frustrating?? Well apparently my feet turned into cinderblocks last night... or my road turned into peanut butter or something!!! Everything felt great, I wasn’t in any pain and I felt stronger than I ever have. But for some reason no matter what I did everything from the waist down was going in slow motion. I guess it’s possible that race pace felt so good because I wasn’t actually hitting my target pace but I’ve found that it’s not usually the pace that tires me out but the running for longer intervals..

Idk what to feel about this run but I’m glad I went out there and did it. I’ve been on a vicious cycle lately where I miss one run and then don’t run for the rest of the week. So I feel like that ended today!
 
Idk what to feel about this run but I’m glad I went out there and did it. I’ve been on a vicious cycle lately where I miss one run and then don’t run for the rest of the week. So I feel like that ended today!
Sometimes missing one run cascades into many more. It becomes easier to accept the stupid excuses your brain makes up as to why you shouldn't run today. Now there can be very good reasons to not run on a given day, but it's very important to learn the good reasons to not run from the stupid excuses.

Great job on your 5K and keep getting out there.
 
Training Update Week 42!
Total miles ran
–4
Month to date – 9.6
Year to date –264.33
Miles on shoes – 82.9

Planned work outs:


Tuesday – 3.5 miles at easy
Thursday – 0.5 miles at easy – 2.5 miles at HM pace – 1 mile easy
Saturday – 5 miles at easy

Things I learned this week –

I tried some “Clif Blocks” this week. They were much easier to take than the GU’s but I don’t know that they worked as well. I’m going to give them another shot before my half, but in the meantime I’ve also been practicing with the Gus and I’m a little more confident with them.

Other Updates that seem important

So as you can tell by my millage count, I didn’t run Friday or Saturday. I ended up going into work Friday and with Saturday being my only day off, I was just exhausted. The weather was perfect for running, but it was also perfect for staying in bed and snuggling my puppies until noon. I went with option number 2.

I’m starting to get worried about my apathy towards running. I thought I was just nervous about the 10 miler and that’s why I was “self-sabotaging.” But the 10 miler is over and I honestly feel great going into this half marathon. Idk if I’ve burnt myself out or if I just didn’t give myself enough of a break after the 10 miler but I’ve been struggling to care. So whenever I have the option to either run or sleep.. I always choose sleep. I’m just hoping I can coast through this half marathon and whatever 5k I do in December. I'm also hoping that this exhaustion and apathy has nothing to do with my running and everything to do with my crazy work schedule.


Days till next race – 19 days until the :figment: Richmond Half Marathon! :figment:

Plan for week 43:
Monday - 3.5 miles @ easy
Wednesday - 3.5 miles @easy
Friday - 2 miles @ Easy + 4 miles @ HM Pace + 1 mile @ Easy
Saturday - 3 miles @easy
 


I didn’t run today. I actually stayed home sick from work. I’m feeling better now. Nothing a little rest chicken ramen and a day full of Disney movies couldn’t fix. Good news... maybe that’s where my lethargicness has been coming from?? Maybe I’m not burnt out. Maybe I was just getting sick? Maybe it’s a little of both? Idk.
 
Training Update Week 43
Total miles ran
–0 :crazy2:
Month to date – 9.6
Year to date –264.33
Miles on shoes – 82.9

Planned work outs:

Monday - 3.5 miles @ easy
Wednesday - 3.5 miles @easy
Friday - 2 miles @ Easy + 4 miles @ HM Pace + 1 mile @ Easy
Saturday - 3 miles @easy

Things I learned this week – :coffee:

Training does not exist in a bubble! Between, being sick at the beginning of the week and my crazy work schedule (I had an extra 4-midnight shift and my early shift was 4a - noon instead of the usual 9a-6p.) I really focused on resting and sleeping when I could.

I learned that I’m trying to be good at too many things at once (did I mention that we are renovating my dining room and kitchen as well as painting my entire house??). I only have 2 more weeks and then I’m going to rest and take a break from training. This does affect my plans for December.. I may still be able to PR just based off the work I’ve already done this year; however, it’s looking less and less likely that a sub 40 will happen. I’m trying to decide if I’m okay with that or not. Part of me wants to suck it up and squeeze out one more short training cycle (a short one). The other part of me wants to just kind of coast and treat my half marathon and whatever 5k I do in December as a victory lap to the AMAZING year I’ve had. I’m worried that if I pick the latter I’ll be disappointed at the finish line that I didn’t go for sub 40. But I’m also worried that If I make the goal of sub 40 and don’t hit it, that I’ll end the year with a huge disappointment. And after this year, disappointment is the last thing I want to feel.


Other Updates that seem important

No matter what I decide to do in December, I just need to remember that this was my goal :blush:!!!!!

[GALLERY=]New Years Resolution! by Katie Little, on Flickr[/GALLERY]

Days till next race – 12 days until the :figment:Richmond Half Marathon! :figment:

:darth:Plan for week 44:
Monday - 3.5 miles easy
Wednesday- 0.5 miles easy + 2.5 miles HM pace + .5 miles easy
Friday -5 miles easy
 
I didn’t run yesterday. I simply forgot I had too... I remembered on my way to work and mumbled a few curse words in my car.

Current fears:

If I try to run this half marathon while I’m this burnt out, will that taint my overall view of the distance and make me hesitate to do another or to go further?

If I don’t try, will that make me scared to try again in the future? Will I always carry a
mental block of “I tried that one time and I just couldn’t do it.”

“If I try??” “If I don’t try???” Where did that come from?! Am I considering not showing up to this race?! I hadn’t thought of it until I started typing but it sure seems like that’s what’s floating around in my head.

Weather. It’s looking like it will be 49 degrees and raining. I have ran in the cold and ran in the rain but never that cold and Raining at the same time. The closest experience I have is the Victory at Yorktown 10k. That doesn’t give me hope though- I was miserable that race and I couldn’t mentally push past the conditions. That was; however, my very first 10k. I used a generic training plan and that didn’t go well. Training has gone better this time (at least post 10 miler) and I did pretty much have a full dress rehearsal thanks to the 10 miler.
If I duplicate my 10 miler results at the half marathon, then I’ll be happy.
 
Don't put too much pressure on yourself. It's merely another victory lap. Whether it goes well or goes poorly, it's simply another step. But I think you owe it to yourself to at least try. You've done the hard part - training. It's why I call the race the "victory lap". It's the celebration that comes at the end of training.
 
Current fears:

If I try to run this half marathon while I’m this burnt out, will that taint my overall view of the distance and make me hesitate to do another or to go further?

If I don’t try, will that make me scared to try again in the future? Will I always carry a
mental block of “I tried that one time and I just couldn’t do it.”

“If I try??” “If I don’t try???” Where did that come from?! Am I considering not showing up to this race?! I hadn’t thought of it until I started typing but it sure seems like that’s what’s floating around in my head.
I think it's normal to feel burnout as race day comes closer. The miles go up and so does the time commitment. Will you regret it? I don't know, but here's what happened to me.

I registered for my first race because I really wanted that Disneyland Castle medal. And there was only one way to get it. Fear, nerves, excitement, et all got the best of me on race day and I started out way too fast. Less than a mile into the race (maybe more like half a mile, everything hurt. I felt like I had shin splints. At that moment, I gave serious consideration to dropping out of the race, walking back to my hotel room, and doing the sensible thing of going back to sleep having learned that running is great for many people, but ultimately not for me. Had they handed me a medal right then and there for merely starting, I fear I would have thanked them, taken the medal as a souvenir, and right back to my hotel room to get the sleep that race nerves had robbed for me, knowing that I would never again sign up for a race.

But I wanted that medal too much. I resolved that if I were to fail, they would have to drag me kicking and screaming off that course, figuratively speaking. If I were to fail, I would fail on my own terms knowing I gave that race my very best on that day. I slowed down, way down. I tried not to worry. At mile 1, they told us we were one minute ahead of pace. I hoped I could keep that up. One foot in front of the other, don't quit. When a freeway overpass came and my legs started to protest, I told myself I had done harder things and I could certainly do this. So I kept going and crossed that finish line.

But the real reward from that day came not from finishing that one race. Instead it comes in all the races I've finished since. All the tremendous fun I've had at every single race since. All the experiences I've had during or because of every race I registered for since that first race. I have since accomplished things as a runner that I believed were "impossible for me" before that first race. Some of those "impossible" feats came after more experience in races.

Maybe you'll decide that the half is not the distance for you. Maybe you'll discover that you love the challenge and what accomplishing that asks of you. Whatever you discover you'll know from your own hard fought experience.

Don't put too much pressure on yourself. It's merely another victory lap. Whether it goes well or goes poorly, it's simply another step. But I think you owe it to yourself to at least try. You've done the hard part - training. It's why I call the race the "victory lap". It's the celebration that comes at the end of training.
I agree wholeheartedly that you owe it to yourself to try. Let the race come to you and learn from what it teaches you on that day. Sometimes race day teaches you areas where you need to improve for bigger goals in the future, whatever those goals may be. The race is the culmination of all the hard work and sacrifice you've put in. The victory has already come in the effort to improve yourself. So go out there and enjoy it, come what may.
 
I also think you will regret it if you don't try. When I have experienced similar feelings, I have convinced myself that I need to show up and go the distance, even if I have to slow down the pace. I know any race will be easier if I slow down so that thought gets me to the start line. Then early on (first 2-3 miles) I decide if I want to push it a bit and get back on my @DopeyBadger suggested pace. And once I start the run, I feel great (and usually get back on pace) and enjoy the experience, even if I don't earn the time I hoped for.

Of course, it would be much easier just to be excited before every race, but life is not always that neat.
 
@Capang @DopeyBadger @Sleepless Knight and @Kerry1957 - thank you so much!! All of your advice is exactly what I need and I'm in am much better mindset now. Sorry I didn't respond faster, but I really have been thinking about all of your advice and stories all week. You guys are always so helpful!!

Good news! The weather forecast has changed and it's going to be 50 and partly cloudy with no chance of rain :-). So YAY!! I'm working on my race day plan now and will post it soon. Also sorry I didn't get a training update up on Sunday. The site was down for a little bit and then I got really busy.
 
:figment:Richmond Half Marathon Plan :figment:

I cannot believe this race is tomorrow, but anyway here goes. The plan is to set my intervals, run for a minute and walk for 30 seconds. My pace should be around 15:30. It’s a pretty flat race, so I’d like to run it as even as possible. I also know how I want to feel @each mile.

Miles 1-3- I want to be so laid-back that I’m worried about the time limit.
Miles 4-6- I wanna feel like I’ve set cruise control. I want to check out and I want to really enjoy the atmosphere.
Miles 7-9- still on a cruise control, I want to be a little more focused on what’s going on. I’ll tune into my pace a little more at this point and start to adjust accordingly.
Mile 10-11- really focusing on pace. The end is near!
Miles 12-13.1-I want the last 2 miles to hurt. This is where I empty the tank. I want to cross the finish line with a smile my face, and mostly in an upright position.

My A goal is to finish!! So I don’t really have b and c goals, but I do have a couple other goals that will neither make or break my happiness at the finish line. I’d like to run this pretty evenly. Have each mile be within 30 seconds of the last. I’d also like to finish right at 3:30:00.

Well that’s my plan! Thoughts?? Wish me luck!!!!
 
:figment:Richmond Half Marathon Plan :figment:

I cannot believe this race is tomorrow, but anyway here goes. The plan is to set my intervals, run for a minute and walk for 30 seconds. My pace should be around 15:30. It’s a pretty flat race, so I’d like to run it as even as possible. I also know how I want to feel @each mile.

Miles 1-3- I want to be so laid-back that I’m worried about the time limit.
Miles 4-6- I wanna feel like I’ve set cruise control. I want to check out and I want to really enjoy the atmosphere.
Miles 7-9- still on a cruise control, I want to be a little more focused on what’s going on. I’ll tune into my pace a little more at this point and start to adjust accordingly.
Mile 10-11- really focusing on pace. The end is near!
Miles 12-13.1-I want the last 2 miles to hurt. This is where I empty the tank. I want to cross the finish line with a smile my face, and mostly in an upright position.

My A goal is to finish!! So I don’t really have b and c goals, but I do have a couple other goals that will neither make or break my happiness at the finish line. I’d like to run this pretty evenly. Have each mile be within 30 seconds of the last. I’d also like to finish right at 3:30:00.

Well that’s my plan! Thoughts?? Wish me luck!!!!

Have fun at the VICTORY LAP! :car:
 

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