Holy eff, I’m tired. I don’t think I felt this tired til like week 13 of Hanson’s! So many things are different now compared to then–for one, my kids are older and no longer nap 😦 That was huge when I was doing all that running. I lived for nap time.
And I’m also training for a 3:30 marathon, not a 3:50 like I was then. Big difference. Sometimes I think maybe it’s too big of a difference and I’m overshooting myself. But I’m already in so might as well see where it takes me, lol!
So those are my excuses. I hate excuses. You may have known that, or not. But, I do. I’ve always felt like people deal with so many different life situations, and still make it work, so there’s no reason why I can’t. I have this friend who has kids the exact same age as mine (5 and 3) and she has a third kid that’s one and a half. So not only does she have one kid on me, she has a full time job just like I do/will-with similar schedules, her husband works just like mine, and she runs marathons (and has already Boston qualified-last February, so like 5 months ago). So when I start to let excuses like kids, no naps, etc. creep in, I think of how other people make it work. And that’s just what you gotta do.
Monday, June 19th–2 miles WU, 3 miles Tempo (7:40), 1 mile CD
I programmed my watch to yell at me while I did the tempo miles and when I was running, I realized it wasn’t beeping at each mile–it just did the 3 straight through. So when I checked my splits afterward, it just gave the average for all three, not individually. This kind of bummed me out because I like to really work on keeping consistent/negative splits. That’s kinda my thing. But oh well, the positive thing was that the average pace was where it needed to be–and I did it without a watch yelling, lol–and now I know to program the tempo miles separately. 🙂
4:30 a.m start…again…
Tuesday, June 20th–4 miles Easy, 9:25 avg.; strength training
I’m still working on this cross training thing, lol. I did do some core exercises and stretches at home though. And got a haircut!
Buh bye, 6 inches!!!
Wednesday, June 21st–2 miles WU, 1600-1200-1000-800-400 (@7:00), CD for 6 miles total
This. Was. Hard.
I was glad to see the 1600 first to get the toughest part out of the way, but the whole thing was tough. I almost cried.
But somehow, somehow, I hit my paces for all of them!! I seriously thought Garmin was wrong when I looked at it after my run.
Shit had gotten real after the 1200. I was so beat and when I saw the 1000 was next, my motivation was low. I hate 1000s. It’s such an awkward distance. Not two full circles, not three full circles. It sucks. Well, when I finished that one, seriously wanting to die, a runner in the group said to me, “You look so strong out there! You’re so inspiring!”
I thought she was legit mocking me. It took me a full minute to register what she said and realize she was actually serious. I told her thanks and that it was hard to believe because I wanted to quit so badly on that last interval. But it made me think of how awesome and fascinating perspective is. She saw someone working hard and giving it their all. Isn’t that amazing?
Thursday, June 22nd–Strength Training
I did not bike, but I did do my core exercises and stretching. I’ve been pretty good about doing them on these days and it’s a plus if I get myself on a bike too.
Friday, June 23rd–3 Easy Miles, 10:14 avg
It’s hard for me to wake up early for 3 miles. So I got a late start on this one and hit the road at 8 a.m.–practically afternoon.
I always think how my easy runs are often…different compared to others. I take them super seriously and have no shame about my paces on these. I learned from Hanson’s how important it is to legit take easy runs easy and I’ve seen the difference it’s made taking them so seriously.
Saturday, June 24th–12 miles Long Run, 8:56 avg
This was sooooo hard. I met up with my marathon training buddy at 4:20 a.m. to try and beat the heat. I’m thinking it was that and the accumulation of a tough week of training that got me. I couldn’t keep up. Eventually, I told her to go on without me. I was please to see consistency in my splits though, so that was a positive #glasshalffull
#makeithappen
Sunday, June 25th–Rest Day, Foam Roll and Stretch
I didn’t run run, but I still did run, lol! I met up with my running group and pushed my kids with my husband. We did a little run/walk because they love when we run and kept yelling, faster!
My run club was having a discount day at our local Road Runner Sports so we hung out for the raffle hoping we’d win. We didn’t, lol!
I have to share this cool dollar store find though. My kids sometimes get antsy waiting at a store (that’s not a toy store, lol) so I brought along these mini white boards for them to play with. Total win! They stayed occupied with them the whole time!
alphabet practice ftw!
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31 miles for the week! I’m hoping I adjust to this new tired soon and become one with this tough marathon training cycle, lol! I’m loving how hard it is though, because I’m seeing myself do things I never thought I’d do. That’s makes it much easier to accept the fatigue, jaja!!!
–How much does fatigue affect your training?
–Do you find yourself making excuses during training? Or do you tell yourself to get over it and just do what you gotta do? (that’s my life mantra)
Awesome week!
I don’t like excuses either, I prefer to just OWN it when I decide not to run. So instead of saying “I was too tired to run” I prefer, ” I was tired, and I could have run anyway, but I chose not to”. I don’t know why that’s different, but it is to me. 🙂 haha
It is to me too, lol!
Yawn, I need to take a nap now. I’m so tired from reading about your workouts.
Fatigue affects my training quite a bit. Not just physical fatigue, but mental too. I know other people need to run when they’re stressed, but stress effs up my training. I’m too drained to run fast or to run for long distances.
I’d have to agree. I run when I’m stressed but stress def has an affect on my training. I’m a little worried about that when I go back to work at the end of July.
The temperature never really dropped overnight Friday/Saturday. It’s hard when it’s already 90 so early in the morning. I made excuses for awhile Saturday morning because I had a virtual 5k to do. “I can do it when the weather is cooler” Well, it was for a girl who’s learning to walk again after meningitis. When I reminded myself of that, I got my butt out of bed.
Nothing motivates me more that running for others. My 5k PR was done in honor of a little girl who died of cancer. Way to get your run in!!!
You are doing an amazing job. Marathon training is exhausting. It is meant to be and I think it is as great for your mind as it is for your body. But seriously, how do you still have time to look that fabulous?!
You are so sweet! That’s salon hair though, not my doing, lol!!
Great job pushing through those tough workouts and nailing the mental toughness…no doubt Hansons helped with that, you know you’ve been this strong before and will do it again!
Hanson’s definitely helped. I keep telling myself that this time, I need to channel that same mental strength and upp it a notch, lol
You are killing it! Another amazing week! I am in awe of all of your quality workouts each week. A tempo, a track day, and what I would consider to be a pretty fast long run…I would be exhausted.
I like to make excuses to delay my workouts, but if I ever need to actually “skip” a run it is because I know my body needs the extra recovery instead of risking an injury. I think that is being smart, not making an excuse.
Unless we are talking about strength training, in which case I have a whole book of excuses, hahaha.
PS: Our half PRs are nearly identical and my recovery runs are often 10+ pace too, especially during hard training. Just yesterday my recovery run was ~10:20 pace.
That’s awesome we’re so similar!! And yes, skipping a run to recover is not an excuse. You know your body better than anyone ♡
Great post and awesome job on your runs! My mom used to always tell me I could always find an excuse for not doing something or for something going badly if I wanted to. In other words, everyone has problems or issues they have to just deal with and get on with their lives. No more excuses.
Have you had your hemaglobin/iron levels tested lately? Runners tend to be low because with each footfall, the impact can actually contribute to bursting extra red blood cells. I only know this because my son has a red blood cell disorder. I always thought runners were anemic because most of them were vegetarians so I thought I was in the clear because I eat meat. But nope. I’m anemic because I run so much!
But anyway, you’re doing GREAT and don’t let doubt mess with your head. You are totally deserving of a 3:30 training plan. Stick to it!
Yup, when I was injured, I discovered I was anemic and was given pills. I just am not good at taking them 🙈
Wow! What a great week! You might be tired, but it sounds like you’re kicking butt. Maybe as training goes on you’ll get used to the heavier training load and you won’t be so tired. Glad to see you’re training is going well and I can’t wait to see you at St George!
Yes, I’m hoping I get used to it/become immune, lol!! Love that I’ll see you there!!!
I just love seeing you get after your goal, Helly! It’s super inspirational.
Thank you so much, my friend! ♡
I should join you on your easy run days. I’ll be happy to keep you at a 10+ min/mile pace 😂
Lol, I don’t struggle at all jaja!! But I would sure love the company!! ♡
Helly, you are doing amazing!!! Don’t doubt yourself now – I love that you are going for it even if it is a big huge goal. Taking on a scary goal is what helps you become braver and stronger in the end.
That said, I actually really dislike the term “no excuses” and here’s why: we’re all different and we have different needs and motivation. You fall into a hole when you start to compare what you do in a day to what someone else can do. I’ve learned that some people have a more natural drive to do one thing after the other after the other and they literally don’t need much of a break while others really do need to take a step back to calm down and re-group. It doesn’t mean that you’re making excuses or being lazy! It’s tough to find that balance between knowing ‘am I just being lazy?’ vs. ‘do I really need to rest right now?’…but in training there are going to be some days when you really do just need that extra rest – and it does not mean you’re making excuses!! I truly believe that one of the reasons my BQ did not happen this spring is because I was chronically fatigued for too long – not fatigue to the point where I couldn’t do my workouts and such…but outside of training I was just soooo tired all the time. Recognize when your body needs the extra break – oh and get lots of sleep every night!!!
Hi!!!! I wish you still blogged!!!
Anyway, I totally get what you’re saying and completely agree! Assessing your body and taking a break because you *know* you need it is different I think, then choosing to not do something because it doesn’t seem fun or easy, lol!! Or attributing an outside cause to not getting the job done. I guess what I’m trying to say with the the “no excuses” thing is that so many times, I hear people say they didn’t reach a goal because “the race was too crowded” or “I would’ve made my time had a runner not started talking to me at mile x” or “I was on pace until …” or “I didn’t train enough so that’s why I didn’t…”. Those things bug me. Ultimately, I think more people should take accountability on why something happened or didn’t happen. Like you said, you were TIRED the entire time you were training b/c you had a lot going on. You recognized that the timing of your race (and maybe the type of training plan) didn’t fit with your life schedule. That’s not an excuse, that’s just reality. Anyway, I think it’s tough sharing thoughts on a social medium because it can be interpreted many different ways, which can be good *and* “bad”, lol!! Like, I loathe the No Excuse Mom woman (I don’t know if you remember that hoopla a few years ago) and those types of No Excuse people. Of course, I understand what *I* mean in my writing, but I may not do a good job of getting it across, lol!!
I totally get it and definitely agree about the whole taking accountability thing. And I do remember that No Excuse Mom. To be honest, I think that’s probably why I started to really hate that phrase now. I associate the phrase with that type of thinking which I know is not what everyone means by that but it’s just one of those things that left a bad taste for me lol. When people take a phrase like that to the extreme it messes up the good intentions of what it’s original intention was.
Totally left a bad taste with me too and it’s something I thought about when I titled my post.