Our trip back home was exhausting. We were in various airports trying to get home for 3 days. We would catch bits of sleep all over the place and by the end of it I had no idea what day it was or what time zone we were in. My body felt like shit!! I am pretty bad with jet lag and when we arrived home my sleep was all over the place!! I was wide awake when I should have been sleeping and dead to the world when I should have been awake. Not good! And then I got sick so I was just a mess and all that was on my mind was training so I started to get a bit of anxiety.
We were so behind on training and I knew this much time off from long runs would really affect my endurance. I really started to doubt if I could finish this 1/2 marathon.
When we got back we were about 3 weeks behind on training. I guess the only good thing was that before we left we were a bit ahead of the game and had already completed a 16k which really helped our confidence. We also did a LOT of walking on vacation and surprisingly didn't gain weight!! After all those amazing French pastries, I was shocked!!
Here's a summary of our workouts since returning:
Saturday July 14th: 7k This sucked. I just didn't feel good with my breathing. It was slow going but it was our longest run in weeks so I didn't expect much.
Monday July 15th: 10k This felt MUCH better! I felt much more in the groove. We planned for another 7k but I pushed for 10 and was happy with that accomplishment. Our pace was better than the 7k as well. One step forward!
The rest of the week: 0k Sick and anxiety ridden. No workouts! 2 steps back!
Saturday July 20th: 13.5k The plan was 16k. Didn't happen and we had to quit at 13.5k with lots of walking. This felt awful for both of us. We went in the middle of the day so the heat also really killed us. I had trouble with my breathing the whole time and hubby was feeling dehydrated and headachy. We finally listened to our bodies and started walking a bunch and quit at 13.5k. I was even dizzy and nauseous a bit at the end. Not good. I felt defeated. Another step back!
Time to reassess things: So hubby and I had a talk about how we should continue. The bottom line for our first race ever and 1/2 marathon ever is to finish and enjoy it!! We decided to throw any time goals out the window and when we decided that I felt like I could breathe again and a weight had been lifted off my shoulders!
Our training program that we had been following was specific to reaching a time goal of 2:15. This has been thrown out and shelved for another race, another time.
We decided to jump on the SeaWheeze training app and if we could get 16k done sometime next week, we would be right on track. I was happy with our new plan.
I read this on the SeaWheeze Facebook page and it couldn't have come at a better time:
"The best races are not based on the time clocked but how you feel when you cross the finish line - when setting your goals for the SeaWheeze, set some qualitative ones as well. For example "I want to cross the finish line smiling, standing tall, and feeling proud of the accomplishment." Run for the love of it!"
I love this and will follow it with all my heart! This race for me will be all about finishing with a smile on my face, feeling good in my body and enjoying it with my husband, friend and family cheering me on!
2 steps forward!
Sunday July 21st: 1 hour yoga + 20 minute run We really wanted to get a yoga class in after all the travelling and sleeping on planes and airports. Some good stretching, strengthening and centering was much needed. Plus our new training program called for optional yoga. Our normal yoga location only has 1class per week so I researched other classes nearby and off we went. We dragged Mikayla along and it was some nice family activity time. The class was hard and hot!! But we loved it! We felt great after. Hubby and I are really loving yoga and what it does for us.
We finished off the night with an easy 20 minute run. Nothing crazy.
Another step forward!
Monday and Wednesday of this week called for 40-50 minute runs. With our new plan we have decided to forego any speed training and just concentrate on endurance. As we still needed to get another 16k in we decided on a rest day for Monday and combine it with Wednesdays run and do 16k.
Tuesday July 23rd: 1 hour yoga class. Was hard, we sweat a lot, stretched a lot and loved it once again!
Wednesday July 24th: 16k!!! We did it!! I was so worried about getting this done but I just did all the things I needed to do - hydrated a lot, ate well and stayed calm in my mind. We decided to wait until the sun went down a little more and headed out around 7:20 pm. My goal was to go as slow as needed to be able to complete it without any extra walk breaks and still feel good at the end. In my head I wanted to be back before 9:30pm. The first part of the run was still pretty hot and there was no breeze but as the sun went down more it got to a nice comfortable temp. We decided to do 3 loops of our favourite long road. Before we knew it we were on our last loop! I couldn't believe it. I totally felt good too. No breathing issues, no dizziness, no negative thinking! Hubby even listened to my breathing at the end and could tell I was fine so he picked up our pace for the last few kms. Sneaky bugger! It was nothing speedy by any means but we did it and along with it came some confidence again! And we got back at 9:22pm, so ahead of schedule which made me happy. I also finished feeling pretty good. My back hurt a bit but no big deal. YAY! I think we are back on track. A giant leap forward!!
Thursday July 25th: Cross training We went for a nice bike ride into Steveston and the finished off with a cross training workout on the SeaWheeze training app.
Today is a rest day which gives me a chance to finally get caught up on this blog.
Tomorrow is supposed to be 19k. The weekend is busy with a family wedding so we are hoping to fit it in. No pressure though. I am just happy to be feeling back in the swing of things!!
