I am an Athlete

Half marathon training is in full effect.  The race is in 44 days and I have 17 training runs (about 107 miles) left to complete.  I’m doing my long runs on the weekend.  This weekend I have 8 miles scheduled.  I’m trying to work on my speed as I would really like to finish the race in less than 3 hours.

 

 

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I run with a partner/group at 5:00 am and rain was in the forecast for today (Thursday).  My partner texted me at 4:00am and asked how it looked in my neighborhood.  I looked outside and the ground was wet but there was no rain coming down.  She was tired and decided to get some rest – I had my clothes laid out and I was up so I got dressed and did my 5 miles around the neighborhood alone.  It was an amazing run. 

This week has been my first full week of training since I got sick and was down for 2 weeks.  I thought it would feel like I was starting over again but I’ve fallen right back into my routine which is currently:

Strength train on Mon, Wed, Fri and running on Tue, Thur and Sun.  I usually get in an extra strength workout on Tuesday nights when I teach my fitness class ... so there's that!

I attempted to train for a half marathon a few years back but my motivation was off so I never finished the training and I did not run the race.  Back then, I was caught up in the excitement of an inaugural race taking place in my city and I thought it would be cool to be part of that.  I had to train in the winter and needless to say my excitement wore off quickly. 

This time it’s different.  I’m training in the winter but I’m doing this race for myself.  Not to be part of something – just for me.  I hate the fact that I quit the first time.  I’m no quitter.  I have to do this race to prove to myself that I can. 

With each run I feel stronger and I’m making an effort to actually improve; I’m not just out here running for fun.  Each run is not a triumph but today’s certainly was for several reasons: (1) I could have cancelled but didn’t (2) I kept my average pace below 11 minutes (3) I didn’t get rained on (4) I think for the first time I actually experienced a “runner’s high”. 

Now, if only I can keep this “high” going for another 44 days.