Enthralled

I've decided that this week, I'm going to post about my emotions leading up to my first half.

I can assure you that various emotions are making their way through me right now, but I'm going to try and isolate one per day and see how they change as the half gets closer. (Don't worry, it's not going to be a complete vocabulary lesson- there's some actual substance to my posts, I promise!)

The first emotion I choose to acknowledge is: 

Enthral [en-thrawl]:  verb (used with object) 1. to captivate or charm.

Similar words: absorb, charm, enchant, engage, enslave, fascinate, hook, intrigue, preoccupy, spellbind

I am indeed enthralled, captivated, fascinated, intrigued and preoccupied by this race. And, as we can all well see from my blog, I'm completely absorbed with it also. I've been prepping and training for this race since the beginning of the year- it has literally taken over my life (which is awesome because when things are difficult for me to do, I usually end up giving up). I've worked very hard on increasing my endurance and making sure that I'm not going to completely maim or kill myself when I do walk/run the 13.1 miles. At looking at my Dailymile, I've run 232.14 miles since January 1st of this year. Considering I've NEVER run before in my life, I find that to be a stupendous achievement (and testament to how enthralled I actually have become with this sport). I've also worked hard on learning to enjoy my running. Yes, the distance will be long and the route will be grueling, but as long as I have some awesome music on and keep myself in a positive mindset, I know I can totally rock this race!

I've even become somewhat preoccupied with what I'm going to wear on race day. Taking it a little bit further, setting up a plan on what to eat/drink before I go, what time to wake up that morning so I can be warmed up when I get to the race, making sure I have everything I'm going to need for post-run recovery (protein, electrolytes, ice, an ambulance, margarita in an IV) has taken over a large portion of my waking thoughts.  But, none of this is in a bad way- I'm not resentful of these thoughts, they actually make me excitement level kick up a notch.

So, the first of my many emotions is a positive, energetic emotion. That's always nice to see, right? Let's hope it continues on that way. 

What are some emotions you felt/do feel leading up to a big race?

 

I Have a Plan... No, Really

Lately, with the anemia and life getting in the way, I feel like I've fallen backward with my training. Like two gigantic, Godzilla-sized steps backward. GRRRRR! It's frustrating to say the least. I feel as if I should be able to run longer and slightly faster than I have been but as soon as I start running, my body gives up. You heard me, my body literally gives up before it even starts. Damn traitor. It's killing me. I feel like I'm literally trapped in an overwhelming pit of negativity every time I start to run. How does one get past a hurdle like this? My last two 5ks were good, in the sense that I finished them, but I was disappointed with my times (and that did nothing to help my continuous spiral into a pit of self-loathing). The Red Dress Run was 46 minutes and the GE Road Race was 47 minutes. UGH!!!

I know I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but I don't care. I'm disappointed and I have every right to feel so, don't I? *pout* Fine. I will be positive. Positive begets positive, right? So, positivity it shall be. Instead of moping around that my initial training plans have been drawn and quartered like ancient day criminals, I have decided to regroup and reformat a brand new and improved (though how it can be both new and improved at the same time, I will never know) training plan.

This week's plan goes like this:

Monday- Rest day (fancy that)
Tuesday- 3 mile run (easy pace)
Wednesday- Cross Training and Abs
Thursday-1 mile tempo run (shooting for a 13:30 pace to start with)
Friday- Rest day (because I'm still not 100%, otherwise this would be another cross train day)
Saturday- 3 mile run (easy pace)
Sunday- 7.5 mile run

Once this week is done, I will regroup again and see how I am feeling. Then, I will either tweak my new schedule or continue as I have it now.

On another note-  

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY 100th POST GIVE AWAY HERE!!!!

And now, a positive quote (so we can leave on a positive note- I swear, it's not all sarcasm)

"I often hear people say 'I'm not a real runner'. 

We are all runners, some just run faster than others...

I have never met a fake runner"

-Bart Yasso