I’d be lying if I said I wanted to be writing this right now. It’s nothing against running. In fact, it’s one of the few things giving me peace at the moment. I’m just stressed and overwhelmed with life. There’s just so much shit going on right now and I’m pretty sure I’m reaching my breaking point. I know my shit isn’t any crazier, or more difficult, or dare I say smellier than anyone else’s shit. (Sorry, I had to!). And I am super grateful for all the good things that are going on. But still, I’m absolutely, 100% maxed out right now and it’s exhausting, it’s stressful and it’s putting me into full anxiety mode.
But you’re not here to hear me bitch and moan. So I’ll stop. But before I move on, I think it’s worth mentioning that even though now would be a really great time to throw in the towel on the marathon training, I will not sacrifice my goals and desires for someone else’s. And I mean that in the best possible way. I can’t be my best for anyone else if I’m not happy. And I won’t put myself on the back burner for anyone, or any job, or really… anything. My number one priority is making sure I can the best version of myself. And I sure as hell can’t be a great mom, a great employee or a great leader if I’m maxed out and drowning in anxiety.
And while my anxiety won’t disappear over night, it helps to workout and run. 🙃 So back to training …
I ended up treating last week as a recovery week. I backed off my mileage, I took an active rest day to stretch and foam roll, and I took a full rest day. My strength training workouts were the same but I logged the following miles on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday: 4.2, 10.1, and 4.2. It’s pretty common to plan recovery weeks into training programs. Although they’re not always popular, they’re really good for muscle recovery. Your body cannot be pushed to its limits every single day. It needs time to recover.
But now this week we’re back to increasing mileage!! The goal: 4-5 on Wednesday, 14-15 on Saturday and then 6.2 on Sunday. The plan is to do the Wednesday and Saturday run outside and finish up the week on Sunday with a treadmill run.
I’m excited to report how my long run goes this week. And hopefully by this time next week I’ll be in better spirits.
Until then, I’ll metaphorically run away from my problems. 🏃🏽♀️💨
lauren goodman 