I have to get out of this thing about Sundays being a disaster. They always are— I don’t whether it’s just because it’s the first day of the new training week or what, but Sunday throws me, and that’s not a good habit to get into because 34 weeks from today, Sunday will be Marathon Day, and I can’t afford to have a bad day on that day.
I’m pretty sure it’s entirely psychological; I was supposed to start staggering my run lengths this week, having a 40-minute run today and 30-minute runs the rest of the week. So I knew today would be hard, but I made it much harder than it had to be by stopping after 12 minutes and walking. I’ve done steady 30-minute non-stop runs for two weeks now, so there was no reason whatsoever for me to give up after 12 minutes, except that I started all this self-talk about how 40 minutes is just forever and that I deserved to have a break. And I’m one of these people that once I take a break, it’s almost impossible to get my momentum back. So the rest of the run was more of a walk interspersed with pathetic joggy-type-bouncy stuff in 10-second intervals. It was unnecessary, and I came home feeling how I’ve felt the last 4 Sundays in a row: annoyed that I wasn’t firmer with my self-discipline. Let down. Disappointed.
So in light of today’s lack of events, I’m going to attempt the 40-minute run again on Thursday. Bet you I nail it, too— I always do fine from Monday onward. And I’ve got to do some hard thinking and work out a way to get past the Sunday mental block, because this just won’t do.
I also made a mistake with my music this morning. Up until now I’d been running with just a few long songs spanning 30 minutes, because then I can think of the run in terms of how many songs there are left to go. So today for my 40-minute playlist I decided to load up lots of little short songs to see if that was easier or more difficult than a few long songs, and since I’ve been really digging the new CocoRosie album I thought I’d pop all those little songs on with a couple of extras to pad out the time (the album is only 34 minutes long in total, spread over 12 songs). That experiment, too, was a disaster. CocoRosie is awesome music, but it’s awful to run to, and having to run for 12 songs is desperately depressing. I lost track at about the fourth or fifth song, and after that all I knew was that I didn’t know how many more songs I had to go, but it was like a million or something. I think it was soon after that when I gave up and started walking.
So tomorrow’s playlist is back down to only 4 songs, starting with a long one (11 minutes) and ramping down to the shortest one (4 minutes). I used this method three weeks in a row, and it worked, so I’m going back to it. I’m also ditching the CocoRosie in favour of some old-but-good Out Hud. We’ll see how it matches up next to The Chemical Brothers (that’s a hard one to beat).
I lost a couple more pounds this week, so that’s all good, but on the down side, I dropped the iron on my foot this morning. At first I thought my toe must be broken, but I’m changing my mind about that. It’s painful, but not broken-painful. I’ll see how it feels in the morning before making a decision about whether or not to run. I’d rather err on the side of caution, but I really don’t think it’s that serious.
So, I did better in Week 3 than Week 2, but Week 4 is off to a slow start (literally). Tomorrow morning is my beach run (toe permitting), and that’s my favourite run, so with any luck I’ll pull it together like I have every previous Monday and take over the world.
These weeks are flying by.
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It is easy to beat yourself up, but at least you are out there. Your LSD day should not be at the same pace as your normal days anyways. Sure, you can beat yourself up if you want about not making pace, but do not forget to praise yourself for getting your minutes in. That is what really counts.
having just started running marathons four years ago…at the age of 50…i am always interested in following the progress of new converts. just thought i’d offer any advice or encouragement that you may need now and then, to help you get through it. i’m in training now for my 15th marathon (dublin) in october. half marathon next sunday from napa to sonoma in california’s wine country. wishing you all the best!
respect the distance
GO GO Girl! hope your toe’s fine…
I love reading your marathon blogs because I am so there. I know for a fact doing it so many times I can run 2 miles without stopping so why do I always stop to walk at some point. Sometimes during the first mile I feel that way! Its all in our MINDS! We need to work out our minds. If you know how and beat this let me know. I am doing a boot camp class 2 days a week now to replace my pathetic running. Running all the other days and only Monday as a rest day.
@K: Thanks for your words of encouragement… I think the big issue for me is that I don’t count the walking as part of my minutes, because anyone with working legs can walk for 40 minutes… it’s the running that’s the challenge. So when I spend most of the time walking I don’t count it, because that’s just the same as the walking I do for my daily errands, and I certainly don’t count that in my weekly mileage.
As it turns out, I seem to have pulled myself together yet again, so let’s hope I keep it up.
@michaelb: your story is amazing and inspiring, and reminds me that being 34 is no excuse not to do this. Thanks so much for your encouragement, and best of luck on Sunday!
@bebang: thanks sweetie, I had to take a few days off for the toe but it seems to be almost back to normal now.
@mswobblybits: wow, boot camp? That sounds harsh. I bet I’d love it.
My rest day is Saturday, but I’ve had a few extra this week due to my clumsy toe accident with the iron. Oh well.