The Little Voice

Week 10 of half marathon training

“It’s very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.” 

– George Sheehan

The last couple weeks have seen their fair share of ups and downs.  I am excited that I have been able to overcome most of them and continue on this journey.  From missed runs to zero motivation to pain and soreness, one thing has been consistent through these 10 weeks of training - the desire to quit.  It would be so easy to just stop, stay on the couch, and not put myself through all of this.  I have quit too many times in my life.  I've been running for over a year, but so much of me has not enjoyed it.  But now that I have gotten relatively good at running, I enjoy it more and more every day.  I love the feeling I get from it.  I love the brief chance I have to push myself and just escape.  So this attitude I have goes toward my half marathon coming up in two weeks as well as for however long I continue to love running.  I can't quit.  I won't quit.


Monday - Rest


Tuesday - 3 Miles
2.12 miles - 18:45 - 8:49 pace.  
The purpose of today's run was to see how quickly I could run a mile.  I hadn't tested in a while, so I got the bug to see what I could do.  7:49.  I shaved off about 30 seconds in a month & a half.  I would love to see this closer to 7, so we will see how it goes.  I have also been planning on adding some speed work to my running after my half, so this was fun to do.


Wednesday - 5 Pace
5.00 miles - 44:57 - 8:59 pace
My previous personal best for a 5 mile run was 47:47, set during my Moab race a month ago almost to the day.  My first mile felt good.  2nd didn't feel the greatest even though the time was good, and I was wondering if I started too quickly.  3rd was more of the same.  During the 4th, when I normally start to taper off, I still felt good - and I realized that I probably wouldn't hit it, but I could be within reach of sub-45:00.  Last mile was my fastest.  Splits were:  8:58, 8:49, 9:16, 9:06, 8:44.  Recently, I feel like the stars have been aligning.  I hit my 10 miler over the weekend, I've been having great times this week - all gearing up for the big day in 2 1/2 weeks.  My (good) knee hurts, I feel tired and worn out a lot, but for the most part every run feels stronger and stronger.  Time to finish strong!


Thursday - 3 Miles
Rest
My knee has been bothering me all week... so I decided to rest it a bit more.  I'm getting a little worried about it but I'm hoping it won't make a big difference for the next couple weeks.


Friday - Rest


Saturday - Cross
Started doing P90X Stretching and Abs, but both hurt...


Sunday - 11 Miles

7.55 miles - 1:15:50 - 10:02 pace
I knew in the first mile that my body didn't want to run.  Not sure why... The first 4 miles were uneventful - had 9's for 4 miles but then the pace dropped a bit.  Once I hit 5 I was spent.  Over the next few, I had to take a couple breaks, and the sun started getting to me.  I'm a little nervous considering I'm 2 weeks away from 13.1.  Oh well, if I have to be disappointed with a 7.5 mile run, I can live with that.  I know there will be days like this on the journey.  It's days like today I try to focus not on how far I still have to go.  Instead, I think about how far I've come, and I smile.