Feeling somewhat normal

The pain from the aftermath of a serious workout can still be felt but today I feel somewhat normal. My legs are still healing but the thought of going to my touch football game tonight fills me with nervous anticipation. It is always hard work, running up and down the field but always very rewarding in the end, win or lose.

Tonight instead of a 4.8km run, I am substituting it with my touch football game which I equate to sprint training.

Update:

Didn't make it to my footy game. Had an interview after work and wouldn't have made it on time. Decided to take another rest break to get my legs to be fully recovered. Tomorrow I will run.

On the train ride home, I realised I couldn't be cryptic in my entries. For this blog to be of any use to my training I need to be a bit more detailed.

I noticed after my workouts on Saturday and Sunday I was exhausted. The causes could be:

1) worked too hard;
2) not eating a runners diet or;
3) not getting enough rest.

It is not enough to maintain this blog, record my runs in my training spreadsheet and weight sessions but I think I should maintain a food diary. It all seems too much. If only I applied this much effort in other parts of my life.

Sometimes I wonder what motivates me? And why on earth I put myself through all this pain? And then a friend who shares the same running craziness as I tells me 'You do it because you can. All of this will be worth it in the end.' 

My life for the next 9 weeks....

I will be a party pooper for the next 9 weeks. 

Frustrated.....but 'consistency is key' I've been told.

To say i'm frustrated is an understatement. It's only week 1 into my 10 week training program so I shouldn't be too hard on myself but when you know what you are capable of, impatience starts to set in. My mind and body are not quite in sync yet.

What has stuck in my head from my current reading material 'Never go 2 days without running!' and I am trying to stick to that. In running, it doesn't matter that you've ran 10K races or half marathons. The minute you stop running for more than 2 days your fitness diminishes. Consistency has always been an issue for me but I am trying to work on that. This time around, I don't want to finish but I want to finish in a better time than last year's time.

I woke up this morning with my muscles aching from the Tabata class and the weight training yesterday. It was enough to stop me from going out for a run. But I made myself go. It was one of my worst runs. Not even 1km into the run and I was suffering from shin splints. I battled with my mind throughout the whole workout, do I cut it short and end it and try again next week? But I persevered. I made the workout count and settled instead for interval training. Running fast for a short period and then walking. One of these days I will have my mojo back and all my consistency will have paid off. I long for the day when I go out for a run and I'm flying. It will happen, I know it will. I have every faith in myself. Failure is NOT an option.

I am back!

1090 days since my last blog post. Blogging I can admit is not one of my strong points. Even when I created this blog I only made sporadic entries and no one really read them, except maybe for my sister and a stranger who commented on one of my posts. I'm a prolific FB poster and that has been my platform of choice but that to me is a very public platform and one where most people I know can see. Blogging offers the anonymity (should I chose not to share this blog with friends/family) that FB can't provide. I'm still in two minds whether to broadcast that I have this blog.

Some may ask, why then did I start this blog if no one is going to read it? In the beginning it was just a curiosity about the blogging world and see how it's done. There are no hard or fast rules to blogging, you can blog about anything of your choosing. Whether it's worthy of an audience is always up for debate. I have maintained journals on/off over the years and decided to take it another step. Me, being the consumate world wide web consumer (hence the moniker 'internez' given to me by my comp science uni friends, the name has since stuck) decided on an online diary.....which essentially is what blogs are about. Of course my entries will just be my general musings and for my own benefit. If others find it worthy of reading, that is an added bonus.

I think this sums up best how I feel about keeping a diary which can also be applied to blogging:


http://lawdoctorlee.hubpages.com/hub/The-Benefits-of-Keeping-a-Diary


The No. 1 reason listed in the link above is: 'The more you write the better you get at writing.' I am fond of the written word and enjoy reading others blog especially those who are extremely articulate. I strive for that in my own writing.

Today I was reminded of my unused blog when I read this paragraph in my current reading material. (Higdon, 2011, 'Marathon. The Ultimate Training Guide', '10 Marathon Truths')

'If you find it hard to motivate yourself, enlist others to help encourage you. This could include friends and family who you keep posted on your progress. Start writing a blog. Even if nobody reads the blog, your commitment to put words on paper (or hurl them into cyberspace) can help carry you through those tough days when the miles get long and the weather gets hot.'

My blog served no purpose other than for my own amusement and there was no specific topic that I talked about. Today I discovered what my blog could be useful for....my running!

I have a love/hate relationship with running. Deep inside me I have a passion for it but there is always the internal battle about training for races, but training is a necessity if I am to achieve any of the goals that I set out for myself. The challenge of crossing that finish line, improving on my times and let's face it, if I'm honest with myself the lure of another medal to add to my race bling is what draws me to it. Running can be a solitary sport, you are your own strongest competitor! One of the greatest motivators I've found is surrounding yourself with like minded people who share your 'craziness' and understand the ups/down to maintaining a level of fitness to achieve your goals whether it's a 5K or 10K race, a half marathon or my holy grain, a marathon!

I am fortunate that I have found people who keep me on my toes and to spur me on when I find things too tough. There are no greater motivators than to hear someone tell you 'Well done!' even if it felt like a crappy workout but to hear it from someone who understands what you are going through means a whole lot. And with that in mind, I have afterall decided to share my blog with my FB friends.

It just remains to be seen how often I will maintain this blog :-)