Well I guess there are the good times and the bad times. And in a similar vein there are the easy going and the frustratingly difficult days. Week 8 training has definitely fallen into the frustratingly difficult.
I started the week with a recurrence of the knee ache that I had the week before. Given the closeness of the three Half Marathons I have planned over the next month I immediately became concerned:
- This isn’t the best timing as it’s my last full training week before taper
- So close to 3 races I’m looking forward to as being fast time opportunity (well 2 of the 3)
I’m inwardly a glass half empty person always erring on the side of disaster not success and so this has knocked my confidence and ambition for how these runs go. I need to dig deep to find some positive thinking.
As for the training. Well nothing to talk about. Three short races of 5-6Km and they have been OK. No knee pain after and so they seem OK but I need to do 21Km which I’m very comfortable in running the distance but now I’m just worried the knee won’t make it. The runs were genuinely OK and I felt good during the runs. Decent relaxed pace, comfortable and relaxed. So there are positives to take.
So what else has been going down.
Well I can’t sit still for too long. I assume the minute I’ve been off training for over 24 hours I’m likely to see my body double in size and my passion for running just fizzle out instantly. I know it’s ridiculous and everything I read tells me to get a grip but I can’t help that at the moment. We all have different wiring and mine is just in need of a review and maybe some new fuses 🤷♂️
To keep things going and give me a sense of achievement I’ve expanded my evening fitness session. Russian twists with 5.5Kg weights, push ups, sit ups, clam shells, squats with weights and single leg squats too. These all feel like they have a positive impact and I feel good having done them. Finding these silver linings really does help.
So along with the knee I have also now developed two young children who feel being awake pre 6am is the best idea and along with my wife being poorly it means getting out to train early morning has been thwarted on a number of occasions. This just frustrates further but in reality my wife is good about this and is keen to find another time in the day that works for me to get out. I appreciate this but know it’s a lot to ask sometimes. I’m lucky I have this level of understanding.
What next?
Nothing is certain so what will be will be. I’d like to get out more and get some more miles out of these legs. But I’m also aware that maybe more time off would be beneficial in getting the knees freshest and strongest. That is until the voices in my head say – but if you don’t run you might not be able to on race day, you might forget how to, you might be useless !!! Argh 😤 choices in life are great and we are lucky we often have so many but sometimes training should be like a rubbish menu. One choice, like it or lump it, just get on with it. But life isn’t that easy and straight forward and that’s one of the things that makes us so immensely lucky – the ability to truly influence our own direction and life in so many ways. We have the key to make of it what we want.
So I’m going to see how it goes. Probably a couple of early week runs. Couple of midweek days off then a weekend with a few attempts of getting out. I would truly love to push near ten miles at the weekend – with no body complaints. This would just give me the confidence for Windsor the Sunday after.
So here’s to Week 9. I’m hoping it goes well.
We are what we make of it and we make it what we want it to be.
RidgewayRunner
Ridgeway Runner 