THE Week After....Half Full or Half Empty

Quote of the day
Success is a choice you must make everyday. Leaving your success in the hands of someone else is very dangerous. It seems everyone is more than willing to tell you what you can or can’t do, or what you should or shouldn’t do with your life. Your life is your responsibility. If you want to be successful, and I know you do, then make the decision to do something everyday to get you closer to your goals. - Keith Cameron Smith

This week for me has been considered as THE week.  From day one of training it has been marked on the calendar with a red flag.  The week following my Half Marathon.  For those that know me, you know that in my previous 2 half marathons that I have run, I have yet to be able to be pain free for weeks.  The first one, I didn't go back to the gym for 3 months.  Last year was an improvement and I only took about a month off.  These were not time offs by choice, they were because of pain.
This time, there was no option.  The marathon training schedule did not show any time off, in fact it said get your butt back in the gym and run 2 days later. (ok, it didn't say that exactly)  So I guess going in I was a bit rough on myself mentally.  But as Keith's quote mentions....Success is a choice. 
As I came off the high of my successful Half, I had to quickly come back down to earth.  The week did not go as planned, I was not able to run and my confidence throughout the week was fading and my optimism about the marathon was following right along with it.  But there were some good points, while not many, it's all I can focus on right now to keep me going......

Monday - Rest Day
The day after....Today was an obvious rest day.  Specifically scheduled an appointment with my other chiropractor (aka the witch doctor)  He is more of an alternative health practitioner and has been a HUGE help the past few years helping me recover from my illnesses as well as my workouts.  I have seen a girl on crutches go into his office and come out jumping up and down.  He definitely fixed me up.  All my soreness went away and my IT Band went from excruciating pain to just pain.

Tuesday - 3 Miles   Actual - Swim 2 miles, Walk 1.5 Miles
My knee just didn't feel right and I still had some pain when I tried to walk "normally" (meaning one foot in front of the other, rather than one foot in front while the other one is turned sideways dragging behind), so I decided to hit the pool.  Had some disappointment, but this was expected.  I was happy to get the swim in before work.  After work, I was feeling good so I decided to head back to the gym, just to stretch out my leg and get some core work in.  Was NOT going to try and run, just walk at a nice easy pace as certain people's voices were in my head saying "Dave, be smart and listen to your body".  Felt good and well worth the second trip to the gym.

Wednesday - 6 Miles   Actual - Walk 2 miles
Another day of playing it safe.  Decided again to just walk to at least feel productive.  The positive side of things, I am now able to walk "normal" with minimal pain/maximum soreness, which is good...Progress...Baby steps.  Took some time to focus on stretching and did some core work.  Also spent some time with the dreaded foam roller, which was a bit painful...lol

Thursday - 3 Miles   Actual - Swim 3 miles
For the first time I woke up early on a Thursday (which has been a thorn in my side for some reason).  This was good, since I wanted to get a long swim in.  Legs starting to feel better, but playing it safe.  Decided to swim 3 miles instead of run.  Flip turns felt better than Tuesday and my pushoffs felt stronger.  Thought about doing double duty again and hitting the gym after work, but decided to go home and just relax.

Friday - Rest Day   Actual - Run 3 miles (30:47)
Yes, you are reading that correctly....I was actually able to run 3 miles today.  While it was a slow pace, the pain was minimal and I did not stop.  It was an absolute perfect way to start a Friday and only a few things could have made me smile more than I was.  I started to look forward to my long run Sunday and my mindset did a 180 just like that.

Saturday - Cross Train   Actual - 1/2 hr elliptical, Walk 1 Mile, Run 1 Mile
Nice and easy workout, nothing out of the ordinary.  The elliptical felt good, so much so, that I decided to hop on the treadmill....stretched out with a 1/2 mile walk, then ran 1 mile (same pace as yesterday) then cool down another 1/2 mile walk.  Spent a good time stretching with some core work.

Sunday - 13 Miles  Actual - 4.53 Miles
As quick as the optimism comes, it deflates even faster.  As weird as it sounds, when I finished the run (or should I say, when I quit) I reached a low point mentally in my training.  I was actually excited for the run.  Jodi, one of my training partners, let me borrow her old Garmin, so I was able to hit the trails outside.  While Jodi and Jenn were doing their 30k race in Cleveland, I was ready to attempt a my 13 miles alone.  I honestly had no "goals" for today other than to complete the run.  Would love to keep under a 10 minute mile pace, but still learning to pace myself.  Started out strong and felt good.  Of course I tried to keep a nice "easy" pace but the Garmin said first mile just around 8 minutes, which I still say is wrong...lol.....Mile 2 was an 8:45....Then just fell apart physically.  My IT Band felt like it got shot, my quad felt like it was getting hit with a hammer and my hip was screaming.  Mentally I was still there and was pushing through it to the finish.  That obviously changed...I adjusted to hope to get 10 miles in, then it switched to 7.  I started to walk some then run some.  The pain got so intense I just couldn't go any further and had to stop.  I made it home and honestly wanted to cry.  Both from pain and disappointment.  After a nap, spent the day hobbling on crutches and icing my knee.

Realization is setting in about what I am embarking on here.  I knew it wouldn't be easy, but didn't really know....Sounds weird, yes.  Toughest part is it's not even halfway through training and the long runs are just starting.  Part of me knows it's not this hard and I can do it, the other part is battling and letting me know it may not happen.  A phone call from a friend this afternoon helped brighten up the day, at least in the sense of getting some positive vibes back in me.  Definitely was spot on what I needed.
At this point, I don't know what my goals are for the week.  I can obviously look back and learn from the week.  I don't know yet what that lesson will be, but it will come to me I'm sure.
But as I said earlier it's either half full or half empty.  So rather than focus on the negative and what I was not able to do this week (as hard as it is right now), I just have to settle on the fact that for the first time EVER I was able to RUN the week after a half marathon.

Until next time...