Catching up || Recap: Week 6 – 10 2018
Let’s see if I can’t just give a brief overview of what else has been happening:
Training:
It’s not going that well, I have to say. When we were in Poland – week 6 – we did run quite a bit, including participating in a local park run in Lodz, but I didn’t manage my intervals or a long run really. Total running kilometers: 40.25 (5x running, one of which was intervals. I missed spinning and all gym work all together, but I did participate in Rachel’s February challenge (still at that point)
Parkrun Łødż
Week 7 was a real mess – 1 recovery run and 1 long run and that was it as far as following the schedule goes! I did go to spinning twice so at least that was something. But it was a rough week and really Ron and I were just trying to distract from the inevitable. Total running kilometers: 22. I think somewhere around this point I wasn’t participating in the challenge any longer.
always fun to spin with #mytrainervinny
Sunday Longrun
Week 8 was again messy. I had great intentions and wanted to at least try to work through some of the grief with running. On Monday I went to Vincent’s running group (#mytrainervinny) where we worked on technique and did intervals. On the Wednesday I went to a Bodypump class for the first time and then did spinning afterwards. I went to spinning again on Saturday and on Sunday Ron and I went out for a long run. Thought it would help clear the head, but it was still tough. Total running kilometers: 27.75.
In week 9 I was attempting to pick up the pieces again but there was too, too much going on. I only managed a run on Friday and participated in a Half Marathon on Sunday (just as a training). I also managed Bodypump and spinning as well. Total running kilometers: 27.55 (so, not really building up here…)
no pre or post race photo! you know I wasn’t right in my head if there wasn’t even one selfie!
Week 10 was not really better. I joined Vincent’s group again on Monday, I made a very pitiful attempt to run in the morning on Wednesday but then finally had a great run on Sunday with a friend/ neighbor of mine, though it was not super far (12km). Because I have a “real” half marathon on the 18th, I didn’t want to do a 2.5+ hour run. I did make it to spinning on Saturday and I biked officially 36 kilometers to support Ron on his long run. Total running kilometers: 22.25
spinning essentials
Total Week 6 – 10: 139.80 kilometers. It’s not enough. I am still going for the marathon in Liverpool though (Ron gave me an out 2 weeks ago, I said no. I’m just going to do it). Obviously still going to the gym so that helps of course but I need to do the intervals and I need to get more km’s in my legs. My plan is to really get back into my schedule by week 12 – I’m being a bit careful in Week 11 due to the Half Marathon I’d like to run on the 18th without walking breaks.
Other Stuff:
I had to cancel a few massage appointments with clients, due to my mother-in-law’s illness and subsequent death. The last few weeks though I’ve been pretty busy. It’s good but also tiring. It’s hard to work another job 4 days a week and put in extra hours with massage. I am not complaining! It’s just more challenging than I thought. I don’t have enough clients though to do it full time. It is what it is and if I want experience this is the only way to do it. But it’s nice to have regular clients now, even if only a few! I enjoy getting to know them and I enjoy helping them most of all! Vincent’s running group on Monday will likely be standard now – on Tuesdays I work and it’s just too hard to run intervals in the morning. I did one treadmill run on a Tuesday after I was finished with clients and it was awful.
In the meantime Ron and I went to two more concerts – two that we also saw last year (Susanne Sundfør and Gary Numan). Felt weird to go at first because of what was happening, but we decided to go anyway. Gary Numan was the day after our anniversary and though no one felt much like celebrating it was good to go out anyway.
Gary Numan in Utrecht (Tivoli Vredenburg)
Susanne Sundfør in Amsterdam (Paradiso)
Running related: Ron and Vincent and I have decided to run the Warsaw Marathon on 30th of September! I’ve already booked us an apartment and Vincent’s wife is of course coming as well. We all went to Paris together and hang out a lot so we know that this will be a good adventure for all of us. So now Liverpool is kind of like my “test” marathon (which I still not-so-secretly want to get under 5 hours) and Warsaw will be going for the gold.
Hopefully next week (now that I’m posting this again weeks later I guess not…) I can get it together enough to do my weeklies again and I can tell you more about food and weight and frustration as well. Oh and our plans for Boston. Life goes on even if we don’t like the things that happen in it.
I’ve missed blogging and engaging with others – I hope I can get back on track soon!
Questions:
Have you ever run a marathon (or half) where your training wasn’t optimal? How do you deal with grief or sad situations – do you find yourself “forgetting” about your training?
What’s the next concert you are going to attend?
When is your next big race?
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I’m so sorry that you have had a rough couple of weeks :( I think that you did the best that you could do to keep up with training under the circumstances. I really hope that April will be a better month for you.
Thanks Kim. I think so too. It’s not like I did nothing either. We are trying to keep going on with life. I did say to Ron that there is no way his mother would have wanted him to give up on his training for Boston so he is just ploughing through on that notion. I think April will indeed be better in any case!
Sorry for your loss and rough weeks. With spring on it’s way, hopefully it will be a better month all around.
Thanks Anna! I know I already feel better with the better weather! Amazing what sun and not-so-freezing-temps can do for a person!
I’m so sorry for your loss. So many hugs to you. Keep on keepin’ on and life will get back to a little bit of normal soon. Hugs.
Thank you Rachel xx And for the hugs too!
So sorry for all that’s been going on – dealing with death and grief can be so challenging. I would just encourage you to give yourself grace and not worry about ‘imperfect’ training. It sounds like you still accomplished quite a bit in these weeks.
thanks Chrissy. I am very ok with the result of what I have been able to do. It’s not ideal but nor is someone you love dying.
Sorry you’ve had such a tough time. When I’m struggling, I just run more. Everyone is different. Do what you need to do.
Thank you Wendy. I thought I would have gotten out more too, to work through things! But then I had a few runs where I tried that as a sort of therapy and still felt crap. My brain wants to work through it and I have sometimes unrealistic expectations that I should feel better by now. Doesn’t work that way. Every day is another chance to try and that’s what we are doing.
So sorry, Renee….I don’t remember hearing of your mother-in-law’s passing (?). Grief is so personal, and it affects everyone differently. Hugs to you and the hubby. I hope there are brighter days ahead <3
Thank you so much Kim. Very sweet. Will pass the hugs along! Things are getting better, but yes grief is personal and takes time!
I’m so sorry about your mother-in-law. Hard to focus on training. Be patient with yourself and just do what you can when you can.
Thank you so much Michelle. I gave myself until week 12 and that was a good timeline. Things are going better now but still sometimes have to do what I can, when I can, as you said. It’s not perfect, but I am moving forward.
No doubt that training had to take a back seat. While running can help with stress and self-care, there are still only so many hours in the day. I hope you both are doing OK and still give yourself time and space to grieve. It’s cool to have a fall marathon to look forward to.
Thanks Coco. We are doing better now, still sad feelings time and again, but that is normal. I am definitely looking forward to Warsaw. We only experienced it for a few hours on our Poland trip but really enjoyed it. I am definitely excited for the challenge!
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been struggling – races definitely aren’t the most important thing in our lives even though sometimes it feels like it because we’re always reading blogs and seeing runners post on social media! It’s ok to put your family first, like you have. You’ll still finish!!!
thanks Nicole <3 Sure our races and other things in our lives are important but when someone you love gets ill or dies, you tend to rethink priorities!!
So sorry you’ve had so much craziness going on lately! Hopefully soon it calms down!!
I can’t wait to hear how your marathon training goes until September though!!
Thanks Chelsea! Hopefully I can get back on track really soon! I am also considering a different type of training for the full in September. Watch this space!
Ha! I’ve run EVERY one of my halfs and fulls without optimal training! I have a half marathon 3 weeks from tomorrow, and I have run ONCE in the past 6 weeks!!!
I just read your blog before seeing this comment and I thought “ha yeah I do that often!”
I’m really sorry about your mother-in-law! Totally understandable how that would disrupt training. You’ll be back in the swing of things soon enough. Good luck!
thank you so much!
I’m so sorry to hear about your loss… Sometimes exercise helps and sometimes people just need a little break! I have definitely run a marathon and a half marathon with sub optimal training. I readjusted my goals and still enjoyed the events!
thank you! I have readjusted my goal just a bit – mainly my goal will be to run the whole way through the marathon. if I can just do that then time won’t matter to me at all. I’ll worry about time in September for Warsaw.
I’m so very sorry for your loss. Please go easy on yourself – you have a lot to process and it’s ok to let your training slide a little.
Yes, I’ve done events on less than optimal training. It’s always been fine. Sometimes, even ben whn my taining has been on point because I wasn’t feeling the pressure. Just play it smart and safe.
Lots of love and support to you.
thank you so much. I think as far as training goes I am doing the best I can. I’m just going to try it and hopefully it won’t be too painful! I won’t know if I don’t try.
Grief is tricky. Sometimes I workout more to deal with everything I am feeling and sometimes I take more time to do other things. I hope you can find what helps you the best and take care of you!
What did you think about Body Pump? I am a little biased as I am an instructor, but I do love it and I think it pairs nicely with other cardio workouts.
Hugs for a better month!
Thanks! It is getting better now actually.
I loved BodyPump! hoping to make more time for it in April!