Monday, June 7, 2010

Well, let's try this again...


Let's just say last week doesn't count.
No, better than that... last week totally counts as an example of what I DON'T want a week during my training to look like. I totally flaked out on my training. I complained about the heat, about losing sleep, I got into a fight with the DBF, I overextended myself, I didn't eat well, I drank too much (and not water or electrolytes, lovelies), and I ate like a 14 year old boy who doesn't know any better.

In short, it was not a great week for training.

And I felt like a failure.

A lot.

But I realized just because I expect myself to be perfect, doesn't mean I should be, or have to be. I have such a huge need to be The Best at everything I do. Being less than is not acceptable. And that is what this training and this blog project is about--to help me start to see myself more clearly, and perhaps another big point I haven't mentioned:

To treat myself more graciously.


And of course, leave it to the DBF for putting things into perspective. We were discussing how difficult this training will be. My friend and co-worker Michelle told me that when she trained for the LA Marathon it was one of the loneliest times
in her life because no one else really understood. So the DBF and I were discussing my new training plan (more on this later), and I was complaining that I "had to run on Saturdays" because I work on Saturday so Sunday is my only day to sleep in, and "I don't want to run on Sundays when I could get one day to sleep in". And the DBF says, very matter of factly, "Well, it seems like doing this thing to try to change your life and how you look at yourself, sometimes you might have to do things you don't want to do at first".

Duh.

Why didn't I think of that??

So instead of thinking "I can't do that" or "I am a failure for not
doing this or that", I will try my hardest to imagine the woman who CAN do that, who does want to get up and go on a run, and then see me as that same woman. And realize, again, that this is a process. And it's about the growth while this training happens. It's about much more than a race. It's about who I see myself as, and who I see myself becoming as this goal gets closer.

On to my run today!

I am delighted to report that I enjoyed this run in spite of some negative things.

Pro: It was BEAUTIFUL today in NYC. For once it was not nearly 90 degrees, but in the low 70s, so I could go on a simple 5 miler and not feel like I would spontaneously combust from the heat. I was recently reading this blog from Caitlin at The Healthy Tipping Point about tips for running in heat. The DBF doesn't like the idea of me running too late at night (I do live in Harlem, which is a great neighborhood, but it's NYC--you never know!), but maybe I need to try to running up to dusk...? Lordy knows this little lady needs as much sleep as she can get and the mornings are hard for me.

Pro: I had a great pace. Though I took about a minute walk break (which is unusual for me), I still averaged 9.10 minute miles, which means my pace just keeps getting faster and faster, without any real attempt to speed it up. (And certainly last week's absence of workouts didn't help).

Cons: I bought new sunscreen today and doused myself in it. It stung my eyes and made me tear up for the whole run... In fact, even after washing my face when I got back to my apartment finally, they still kinda hurt.

Cons: I got some nasty side stitches. First one on the left, which I breathed through and it went away. Then one on the right, which went away--or so I thought. It just migrated to higher up, almost in my rib cage. I don't normally get side stitches, so maybe it was the quick snack I had before I went out? Maybe I was a little dehydrated, or that I took took too much time off last week. Either way, I simply walked for a minute somewhere between mile 3 and 4 (you can see the big dip on my chart above), and it worked itself out just fine.

A Change In Training Plan
I don't like the Nike+ training plans. The interface online really has no possibility of changing up the runs, which drives me nuts. So if I decided to take Tuesday as a rest day and run Wednesday instead, it just looked like I flaked out on my run. It wasn't working out well with my OCD tendencies. So I just jumped into week 10 of Hal Higdon's Half Marathon training, since my half is 3 weeks away. I find the Novice training programs seem to be a little less than what I wish I was running in total in a week, but I'd rather finish the half, and then finish the marathon in November and then officially become an Intermediate, than to over exert and therefore burn myself out.

Also, I decided to repeat Week 2 of the 100 Pushup Challenge. But I'm calling it Week 2 + 2. I couldn't do the big jump to Week 3, but repeating Week 2 seemed silly. So I'm doing the same sets as Week 2, but just adding 2 push-ups to each set. Which seems to make the difference between Week 3 a little less vast.

I need to get to the shower. I am very gross, mostly from icky sunscreen... Anyone have any suggestions on good sport sunscreen? I don't like feeling greasy! But I would like the highest SPF possible--I'm a fair one!



2 comments:

  1. beautiful Anna Lise, I just found your new blog, excellent work, what an awesome personal project! I will be so proud of you when you run the full marathon!

    I have a coupe of suggestions,
    #1 Remember to stretch it out. You owe it to your body to balance all this running and fitness with a weekly yoga session. Life is all about balance baby
    #2 I have many negative tapes and one thing I've found helpful is to try and distance myself from these thoughts. for example, instead of listening to yourself tell you that you've failed because you didn't go for a run when you planned, turn it around and say, "oh Anna, you're having that that same thought of failure to go running again..." distance from the thought instead of being consumed by it... we all need to be more compassionate with ourselves, be your own friend. Would you abuse someone else for not running every time they planned? hope this helps your journey
    love and hugs
    Ailsa

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  2. one more thing - i use banana boat ultra sunscreen 30+ when I go surfing and I put it on my forehead and it doesn't run into my eyes.. There is a banana boat sport sunscreen 30+ which would probably be the good enough for running - it's thick - but I live nice and close to the hole in the ozone layer so protection is essential :)

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