When Things Don't Go As Planned

I have never followed any specific training plan but tend to take bits and pieces from several that I come across and then make up my own plan. I don't like to stick to a specific training plan because I get really discouraged when I have to miss a run or cannot do as much as it demands. I try to run 3-4 times a week and that is pretty much all I can fit into my schedule. My family and my job take priority and then comes running. 

I have kind of changed things around because of my work schedule and the fact that I pretty much end up on the treadmill twice a week since it too dark to run outside alone by the time I get home and can actually head out the door for a run. I really hate running on the treadmill and feel like I don't really get a good quality run in because I get bored and just run according to how I feel that day. To lessen the boredom and make my runs really count, I have decided to save the treadmill days for those runs where I want to hit a certain pace.

This week started out great and then kind of took a turn for the worst. I started the week out with two good runs and then my long run went south. It was super windy and I have a cough that got progressively worse during my long run. It felt kind of pointless because I had to stop so many times towards the end because of the coughing. I hardly, if ever, get sick so this kind of came at a bad time.

I am still sticking with the speedwork thing even though I have a love/hate relationship with it. It is hard but I love the way that I feel once it is over. I also find myself pushing a little harder on these days since I have a planned workout versus just running 7 miles for the day. My runs are a bit shorter but are definitely more challenging and meaningful these days. I sweat like crazy and that kind of makes me feel like I am working hard!

I also like to run my tempos on the treadmill because when I run them outdoors I hit too many signals and end up stopping way too many times. I want to be able to hit these paces and distances without those breaks in between. My hope is to be able to run these tempos without feeling so beat up in the end and then I can start increasing the pace a little bit at a time.

My longs runs will always be done on the road because there is just no way that I can last 3-4 hours on a treadmill. I prefer to run outdoors anyway and this is the one run a week that I look forward to each week. Long runs are tiring and they take a lot out of me but having something to look forward to makes it a little bit easier. I planned on 18 miles last week and only did 16. The plan for this week was 20 so I was determined to stick with the plan and ended up running only 8 miles. Yes 8...between the wind and the coughing it was not happening for me. I guess it happens and this was a first for me. I didn't let it get to me. I called it a day and enjoyed my Mother's Day.

TOTAL MILES:21

I will make a decision this week as to whether or not I will run M2B. I just need to convince myself that I can do it and even though it will not result in a PR it is fine. The only person who really cares is me. I always want to see improvement but at the same time I have to be realistic and remind myself that you only get out what you put in. I have not put in what it takes to realize a PR this time around so why should I even expect it?

 How was your Mother's Day? 

What special things did your family do for you?