The past few weeks have been pretty rough for me running-wise. Summer finally came back to West Michigan and brought with it humidity and warm weather. These things are not my friends when it comes time to run, and my runs have suffered lately.
Crap is starting to get REAL when it comes to the half marathon training, folks. My "short" runs are supposed to be 5 miles long now. That didn't quite work out for me this week, but I did get in 10.5 miles worth of short runs this week (2.5, 3, 5), so I'm calling it good. Most days, it isn't an issue of being able to run the miles, but actually finding the time needed to do so before it gets dark. I had to hit the dreadmill to get in the mileage for those 2 shorter runs this week because it got too dark for me to feel safe enough to finish outside. That was not so fun. (I hate that thing.)
This week's long run was 9 miles, and I ran it this morning. First, I have to say that I am SO thankful to the people who clued me in to the port-a-potty locations along my route in North Muskegon, because I had a little potty emergency about halfway into my run. I hate public restrooms, and especially port-a-potties, but I was in love with that thing this morning, spiders and all. We were fast friends, and then I was back on my way.
The first 7 miles or so were actually pretty great. I kept a nice pace and aside from the potty emergency, I felt good. Mile 8 wasn't awful, but I started to get hot because I was running in direct sun for most of that mile. I was a little slower, but still not awful. Mile 9 was tough. My asthma started to bother me and I ran out of water. It was hot, and I struggled to finish. I may or may not have run into a few yards with sprinklers on to get myself wet to try and cool down during mile 9. Alright, I admit it. I totally did...and it felt wonderful. Anyways, I survived the 9 miles and didn't die, so we'll call that run a success.
And then something weird happened when I got home. I drank chocolate milk. I stretched, and then I sort of had a little mental breakdown. It took me 2 hours and 2 minutes to run those 9 miles, and by the end I was tired. I laid on my living room floor thinking, "How the hell am I going to run 13.1 miles in 3 weeks? At today's pace, that would be another HOUR of running!" I cried a little. I'm still not feeling super confident and that makes me sad. I made it through my run today and most of it was good. I should be feeling proud instead of this. Maybe I'm all emotional because my monthly visitor is here, I don't know. I just know that I need to find my confidence again somewhere between now and September 15th. I need to believe that I can do this thing. I cannot let the self-doubt ruin this for me. I just can't.
So, that is where I am right now. I need to get in a new head space, and quickly. This next week is bound to be interesting, as I have some really exciting stuff on my plate. I am going to need to be flexible to get my runs in with everything going on, but I'll make it happen. I hope!
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