Next Stop: Our House

Nothing can take you off of your A-Game like getting sick, and taking two full weeks off to recover has messed with me both physically and mentally.

The thing about this cold was that I wasn’t sick enough to justify staying home from work for 2 weeks, but it was just enough to make me feel like I could barely make it through a full day. Normal tasks such as driving to and from work (which is exhausting enough already) and finishing up work projects took three times the amount of energy, so by the end of the day I was beyond beat. As I mentioned in last week’s post, I did Yoga for Runners three times total, knowing that it would still be a workout, but not as strenuous as running.

Yesterday was my first day back at the gym, and I decided with my half marathon in 8 weeks that I need to get back on the treadmill. I figured I’d run a slow, steady 3 miles and not allow myself to worry too much about the pace. Just do it.

Well to my surprise it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. I struggled. I slowed it down to a 12 minute mile pace for a few minutes at one point because I just couldn’t breathe. However, I ended up finishing my 3 mile run in just over 30 minutes, and even though it was hard, I was very glad to have gotten back into it.

The first run back is always the hardest part right?

Source

Two weeks is just long enough to get you out of your game. Going to the gym last night took a lot of mental toughness -  I just did not want to go. I didn’t want to go out of laziness and out of the fear that my run would suck and I wouldn’t enjoy it. (It did and I didn’t)

In reality, I need to remember that it’s going to take time for me to get my strength back – physically and mentally – and that will take some patience. I think it’s funny that I’m the first one to console someone who is struggling with coming off an injury or starting something new, but I have a hard time taking my own advice. That’s the thing about being a competitive person. However, I’m only hurting myself because in reality, no one else cares how long it takes me to finish 3 miles. Whether I run it in 25 or 30 minutes what does it matter right?

(I’m still struggling with this one, I won’t lie)

How do you break the mental struggle? I think I need a mantra….

Edited to add:

Ann I just came across Catilin HTP’s FB post about this, and noticed you posted it too — I needed this today, not only because of my struggle to get back into the groove of things, but also as a reminder that we’re giving it all we’ve got no matter how fast (or slow) we run. Thanks for the heads up. Keep on running!!