During Week 6 I had a lot of stress going on. We had our vacation coming up and packing needed to be done and my homework needed to be all caught up. It wouldn't have been an issue IF we didn't have a hockey game to go to, Kevin didn't have bowling and a class to go to that week too AND all the grocery shopping needed to be done for the trip. AND AND AND! Every time I turned around there was something else added to my plate. So.... while running should have been a stress reliever, I was busy thinking of everything that needed to be done AND mentally exhausted on top of it. I also started putting 2/2.5 days in between my runs instead of a day/day and a half.
Its easy to give up when you're mentally exhausted. In the last two weeks I learned in any physical activity you have to be physically AND mentally ready!
| So Week 6 was as follows: | ||
| Run 1: Jog for 5min Walk for 3min Jog for 8min Walk for 3min Jog for 5min |
Run 2: Jog for 10min Walk for 3min Jog for 10min |
Run 3: Jog for 25min |
We ended Week 5 running for 20min straight. I figured going back to Run 1 Week 6 would be easy. NOPE! After getting used to running for a long period of time the stopping and starting really played me and it was rough. Run 2 wasn't as bad. But with all the stress I was feeling leading up to it, I just wasn't feeling it. Run 3 was completed at Rocky Gap State Park and, as I stated in a previous post, there was A LOT of hills. The hills killed any kind of drive I had to get through the 25min run. At one point I had to stop mid hill and walk to the top before continuing to run!
Week 7 had all 25min runs. I started a day later than I should have because I wanted to make sure we got home from camping instead of running on the huge hills again. My first run for Week 7 was terrible! It was the first time I didn't finish. My excuses are as follows....
- It was unusually hotter and humid than we had been used from previous days
- Ate a huge lunch about an hour and half before the run
- Exhausted from camping and unpacking
- Body was sore and stiff from the hard bed while camping
- Stepped in a puddle while jogging and started a blister on my heel
- Tweaked my ankle in a random crack/dip in the road
At 21/22 minutes I gave up and started walking home. The closer to home I got the more pissed and upset with myself I got. I had never not finished a run. I was disappointed in myself and knew my reasons for stopping were all just stupid little excuses. I knew I could have finished and didn't.
When I got home I had that awful lump in my throat and felt like crying! Kevin kept telling me there was nothing to be upset about and I could rerun the day and that this is supposed to be hard not easy. As I was sitting in the living room cooling off and resting before hopping in the shower Connor came up to me and handed me his sippy of water and said, "Here you go Mommy". I guess I looked like I needed a drink! After my shower I was less mad at myself and more determined to finish the week.
I decided I would rerun the day if I was still struggling to reach the 25min goal at the end of the week. Run 2 was completed BUT it was a struggle. I completed it on my lunch break on the track and the sun was beating down on me. Right before walking out of my office I took a look at my Vision Board and took in the image that said "100% Committed" and I focused my energy on that phrase throughout the run. There was no way in hell I was going to disappoint myself again.
Run 3 was completed in 50 degree weather! It was CHILLY!!! The first 5 to 6min my lungs had to adjust to breathing in the cold air BUT I finished the run and felt like I could keep going! I'm glad to say I ended Week 7 on a high note instead of the low note I started it on.
Today starts the beginning of Week 8 and we'll be running for 28min all week. Wish me luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment