That Point in Training

This month marked the third month of training (weeks 9-12 to be exact) and the point that I was over it.

In most races, I hit my wall about 3/4 of the way in, and it seems that pattern holds for training cycles, too.

It makes sense. You start out fresh, your excitement and momentum takes you through the first eight weeks, and then you start to get tired. And bored. And you just want it to be over.

This is my everything's-fine-but-I'm-kind-of-over-it smile.

The good news is, I think I've passed the wall. I have a lot of missed runs in January, some from travel and some from ambivalence, but last week I really forced myself to face facts: if I want to run A1A (which I do) and I want to feel proud of it (which I do) then I need to finish training even if it's not fun anymore.

Yikes.

Truthfully, I am at the point where I could finish 13.1 miles and do a pretty okay job. But I don't want to just do a pretty okay job. I want to feel happy and strong! Part of the point of running long distances is the challenge, and part of the challenge is the training. Like, the tough parts are the whole. damn. point!

So. I am back to the grind, and feeling like it's not so grind-like anymore. After forcing myself to break through the wall last week (by rearranging some runs but holding myself accountable to make them up), I feel I'm back on track.

Which is good, considering this week is the last week of January and then it's officially race month. I don't have time to waste, really. I will make the most of these last three weeks of training. I will get it done.

ABK